Carocci is not standing for election, but has written a manifesto in the form of a short story

A personal account, but personal in a very political sense: it has just been published by Valerio Carocci, president of the Piccolo America Foundation, in the magazine-book "Barrio n7, Cosa nostra?" (Bibliotheka edizioni). He presented it last Friday at the Giufà bookshop, in the heart of San Lorenzo. The account is, in fact, a political programme, even though Carocci has said he no longer wishes to set up the civic list (an alternative to the coalition supporting the Democratic Party mayor Roberto Gualtieri) which, in the height of summer, had almost become a reality, to the point of being on the verge of collecting signatures.

The feature article serves as a roadmap for an ‘imaginary city’ (which, however, speaks volumes about Rome and of Rome), modelled on a Paris where ‘third places’ – situated between home and work – are described as ‘offering a neutral and accessible environment in which people from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds can meet, collaborate and build relationships’. It covers the entire history of Piccolo America: in no particular chronological order, the dispute over the former Metropolitan and the conversion of other cinemas, open-air cinema, the housing issue, the ‘Troisi model’, the Regional Administrative Court (TAR), the battle for study rooms, and the ‘goodnight’ law (safe, soundproofed venues). The book tour for the story has only just begun (though Carocci reiterates: he is not standing for election).