Confini Diamanti / Viaggio ai Margini d’Europa, ospiti dei rom

A narrative reportage by Andrea Mochi Sismondi
introductory note by Adriano Zamperini
edition: Ombre Corte
first release May 2012 – first reprint May 2013
pages: 254
 – € 20,00
isbn 978-88-97522-21-8

Šutka, in Macedonia, is the only municipality in the world where the Roma are the majority. After a first alienating crossing, Andrea Mochi Sismondi and Fiorenza Menni are welcomed to live in the community. Along with their child, they reverse the relationship: they are other-way-round immigrants, they are foreigners among all time foreigners. This u-turn allows them to participate to the long discussions of the community, follow their rituals, compare their paradigms, and overall trying to understand, in order to be eventually adopted by a Roma family. Before their eyes the human network that Sutka branches throughout Europe is gradually revealed, along the paths of departed parents.
This experience, already transformed into public actions by the theater projects Comune Spazio Problematico and OpenOption by Fiorenza Menni/Teatrino Clandestino, now lives in a book that tells of how all the pre-concepts that they (but we all) unconsciously bring from Italy – were they good or racists- have bumped into reality, proving themselves insufficient to understand the complexity of what they see. What transpires here is an open option: the ability to conceive the individual existence, the political practice and the same History in a different way.

The non stop existential encroachment practiced on these pages certainly weakens the ideology of cultures as waterproof properties. But, more than that, the reader is offered the opportunity to try and imaginary role-playing.
A challenge to the existing inevitably overflows from the pages of this book.

(from Adriano Zamperini introductory note)