1st Edition
Performing Stragismo and Counterspectacularisation Italian Right-Wing Terrorism and Its Legacies
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part One
Chapter One Performing (state) violence – “I remember images of this train ripped apart”
Introduction
The spectacular 1970s
The aesthetics of stragisti
The Italicus spectacle
The Bologna station spectacle
Spectacularised trials
Representation
Conclusion
Chapter Two Performing resistance – “Bologna has a lot to teach”
Introduction
The influence of Nuovo Teatro
The state funerals and the resistance narrative
The Italicus commemoration
The Bologna train station commemorative complex
Counterspectacularisation
Conclusion
Chapter Three Bodies in remembrance – “They became collective dead. They are ours too”
Introduction
“Da ferito a morte”
The two Antigones
From Cantiere 2 agosto to Un’altra vita
Conclusion
Part Two
Chapter Four Methodologies of Encounter – “I don’t have any particular memories”
Introduction
Wider context
Methodology
Recruitment
Intersubjectivity and power dynamics
Research design
Findings
Conclusion
Chapter Five Representing memory gaps – “It looks like a movie, but it was like this”
Introduction
Devising counterspectacularisation
Conclusion
Conclusions
Bibliography
Biography
Irene Ros is a theatre and performance practitioner, SGSAH alumna, and independent researcher. Co-founder of Cut Moose, a charity exploring inclusive storytelling through diverse art forms, she shares her research internationally through papers and screenings at conferences and symposia, and recently published "Will Cinderella Fight Inequality?" (IJPADM, 2025).
‘Performing Stragismo and Counterspectacularisation is a timely intervention that recentres the impact of right-wing terrorism on Italy’s memory culture, challenging dominant narratives and demonstrating how performance can serve as a powerful medium for collective remembrance and political reckoning.’
Bryce Lease, Professor, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK
