Merchants in the City of Art

Klappentext San Lorenzo! a neighborhood in the historic centre of Florence! and home to a market that has existed since before the Renaissance! is in transition. Globalization pressures-specifically international tourism and immigration-are forcing changes in the way vendors work! which in turn raises larger questions about identity. Zusammenfassung San Lorenzo! a neighborhood in the historic centre of Florence! and home to a market that has existed since before the Renaissance! is in transition. Globalization pressures-specifically international tourism and immigration-are forcing changes in the way vendors work! which in turn raises larger questions about identity.

Auteur

Anne Schiller is Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University and Fulbright-Con Il Sud Visiting Professor at the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. She has conducted research and published extensively on identity and social movements in Italy and Indonesia. She is also active in the field of international education, and writes and presents on issues of cross-border collaboration among universities.

Texte du rabat

San Lorenzo, a neighborhood in the historic centre of Florence, and home to a market that has existed since before the Renaissance, is in transition. Globalization pressures—specifically international tourism and immigration—are forcing changes in the way vendors work, which in turn raises larger questions about identity.

Contenu

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments

1. San Lorenzo Neighborhood and Its Globalized Market

A Marketplace in Transition
Migrations and Complications
Civic Administration and Politics in San Lorenzo
Fieldwork as an Apprentice Vendor
Marketplace Performance in the Theater of Sales
Some Dilemmas of Fiorentinità

2. A Mercantile Neighborhood across Time

A City of Merchants
San Lorenzo in Medieval and Medicean Times
Old, New, and Newer Markets
From Traveling to Stationary Peddlers
Diversity in the Most Cosmopolitan Part of the City
Choosing the Right Vendor
Identity and Heritage in a World Heritage Site

3. Lives and Livelihoods on Silver Street

How Some Vendors Got Their Start
Merchants and Their Merchandise
Finding Work in San Lorenzo
Competition in Close Quarters
The Best Work
Customer Relations
Making Cents in San Lorenzo

4. Into the Heart of Florence

Long-Term Vendors and Newcomers
Fixed Merchants and Infringers
Unlicensed Vending in the Marketplace
Talking to the Neighbors

5. Saving San Lorenzo

A Neighborhood Association
The Saint Orsola Project and the Search for "Monna Lisa"
Tsunami on the Market Stands
Fiorentinità and Its Discontents

6. Fiorentinità in a Post-Florentine Market

Bibliography
Index