OUT OF SIGHT

The slums of Messina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Messina, August 2010.The slums of Fondo Fucile and Maregrosso arose after the 1908 earthquake that involved the towns on the Straits of Messina.

     The first settlements for those left homeless were wooden shacks that were to serve as temporary accommodation, but this initial solution was never followed by a real reconstruction plan, a condition that persists to this day.

      Over time, the shacks have become permanent dwellings, handed down from generation to generation, even though they are not recognised as living entities on the city's toponymy; here, there are no streets and house numbers, just a maze of narrow streets and alleys where people know each other by nicknames.