ABSTRACT
The author discusses amateur moving images of Bologna with the purpose of mapping what he calls 'the amateur city', that is, the sum, juxtaposition, stratification, comparison and editing of the gazes of all those inhabitants who have filmed the urban environment at some time. He specifically focuses on the work of five local filmmakers – Corrado Calanchi, Angelo Marzadori, Mauro Mingardi, Luciano Osti and Eros Parmeggiani – who documented Bologna in the post-war years, between the 1950s and 1980s. Bologna democratica by Marzadori is probably one of the best examples of an amateur film concerned with mapping the urban space. Its images show the post-war renaissance of the city and reflect the engagement of the Municipality led by left-wing parties. Apart from turning the real cityscape into a film set, Mingardi recreated places that belonged to his personal memory, or to the collective memory of the city, in natural settings.
