Mobilising Memoryscapes. Tourist Entanglements at two Catalan Civil War Sites

Identifier:  imarina:5624863

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina5624863

Authors:  Russo, Antonio Paolo; Bertelle, Sara

Abstract:
This paper’s ambition is to explore how the material, social and symbolic legacy of conflicts that have taken place since the turn of the 20th century may be made more resonant and comprehensible to visitors. We take the Spanish Civil War sites in Catalonia as emblematic of the issues and entrenchments which to date hinder their full potential as sites of reconciliation, awareness and identity-shaping for Europeans. After analysing their current situation and embedding in place strategies, which is remarkably different – one in a peripheral mountain location and one in the very core of Barcelona’s touristscape –, our research examines the way in which historical memory is constructed, narrated and practiced in those spaces, underlining unsolved issues and contradictions. In retrospect, this research contributes to the critique of the very concept of historical memory, its patrimonialisation and the modes of social construction of heritage in the ‘age of mobilities’.