6,941 research outputs found
Trade as a cultural identity aspect in a city. A case study on Catania
No full textIn the present-day post-industrial society and in a globalised economy there is a strong tendency towards standardization and homologation. If we consider one of the most traditional urban functions - the commercial one - analysing what is happening in the centre of the cities of all the developed countries of the world, we notice a process of standardization regarding the offer, both in the sense of the single articles sold and in the sense of the commercial area in all its complexity (uniformity of the showcases for the exposure, diminution of the historical shops with sale of distinctive articles, diffusion of the branches of national and international chains and the phenomenon of franchising). Therefore, the central areas of our cities tend to be more and more alike. Obviously this is fruit of a more complex process, that is concretized in the tendency towards the diversification of the distributive network through the rapid diffusion of hypermarkets and commercial centres in the outskirts of cities and in the changed behaviour of the consumers, more and more directed to American styles of consumption. What kind of role will the more traditional commercial structures that characterize the Italian historical centres have in the future? Despite the fact that these last ones are, at the moment, under considerable pressure that pushes towards a more radical change, there is the possibility however that the particular "commercial landscape" that characterizes them could itself become a new model of development capable of promoting the urban culture, close to the functionalistic model, currently in expansion, totally directed towards the peripheral spaces. Catania is a city where we find, to a great extent, the evolutionary characteristics of the southern urban system, but in which we find even more the changes and the tendencies present in the cities of the more developed regions when processes of decentralization of economic activities, residential activities and of the social structures are outlined. The commercial patrimony of Catania, besides the cultural one, represents one of the pivots on which the identity of the city is based. It represents a resource for the development of the town and a stimulation of tourism. This research investigates the solidity and the potentialities of traditional commerce in the central areas of the city of Catania in relation to the dynamics of development of the external commercial centres.
Problems and contradictions in the constitution of a southern european metropolitan area: Catania
No full textThe Metropolitan Area of Catania has been created with a Regional law of 1986 (together with that of Palermo and Messina). With its 27 municipalities and for its characteristics it resembles, more than any other area in Sicily, a Metropolitan Area (MA), that is, a complex urban system in continuos evolution and at an advanced stage of the urban life cycle. However, it is still possible to trace some incongruous elements in the creation of such a system: a) the decentralisation process of function and activities, with respect to the main urban core, is at a very early stage; b) the main urban core still has difficulties to attract highly technological tertiary activities and strategic services which would allow a connection between the local, the national and the global level; c) the medium and small size centres have a low functional specialisation and are identified by highly hierarchical relationships; d) the MA has a weak cohesion in terms of economic and functional relations. The ambiguity of the relationships among the different centres, their low level of specialisation and the strong hierarchical dependency of the peripheral ones represent an obstacle to the creation of the Metropolitan Government of the area of Catania. This appears as a top down manoeuvre without solid territorial basis and with persistence of contradictory elements in the development and consolidation of the MA. This does not mean that a system to govern the MA would not be necessary to strengthen the evolution of Catania urban complex. This evolution has, in fact, known a clear intensification in the last ten years and has shown how urgent it is for this Government to realise socio-economic, infrastructural and cultural policies capable of accelerating the ongoing process. It is also essential for this Government to make its choices without incorporating automatically the power of local autonomies, but by reaching agreements on common issues.
Filosofia e storia del diritto negli studi di Alfonso Catania
No full textIl 9 giugno 2023, nell’ambito della tavola rotonda su «Conoscenza, volontà e diritto», organizzata presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche dell’Università degli Studi di Salerno, in occasione della pubblicazione del volume omonimo di Studi in memoria di Alfonso Catania, a cura di G. Preterossi, F. Mancuso, V. Giordano, G. Bisogni (Giappichelli, Torino 2023), ha svolto un intervento su «Filosofia e storia del diritto negli studi di Alfonso Catania»
Actors and resources of an evolving local system. The processes that involve Catania, a dynamic reality in a low developed region
No full textSince the second half of the ''''70s, a great crisis has hit the local system of Catania, - which is the most important town in the North-east of Sicily - both in its economical aspects and in its social and political ones. In the ''''90s, nevertheless, the city has been interested by deep transformations which have caused new actors and innovative resources to emerge. During the years of crisis, the Catania local system was based on the building industry and on the public expenditure that have nourished clientelistic and also illegal activities. In fact the public expense played a very important role in the economic development of Sicilian society, where most of the industrial enterprises worked in protected sectors. A few exceptions regarded SMEs with innovative capabilities and larger firms depending from an exogenous management. From this point of view, the authors of this paper will try to draw a clear picture of the changes happened in the last decade in the Catania socio-economic system, pinpointing its ability of nourishing new initiatives in high technology sectors and attracting others from the outside, thanks to the new political atmosphere present in the city and its ambitious aspiration to became an important node in the Mediterranean Basin. Some of the actors of these changes are a group of innovative entrepreneurs, the local University and a new class of politicians more sensitive to the economic and social development of the community.
Diritto e realtà. Alfonso Catania tra Kelsen e Hart
No full textIl saggio ricostruisce il debito del pensiero di Alfonso Catania nei confronti di Kelsen e Har
L’accettazione del diritto secondo Alfonso Catania: qualche osservazione a margine
No full textA dieci anni dall’uscita di The Concept of Law, Alfonso Catania pubblica, sulla prestigiosa Rivista internazionale di filosofia del diritto, un saggio critico dal titolo: L’accettazione nel pensiero di Herbert L. A. Hart. Si tratta di un saggio meritatamente celebre, di cui è difficile esagerare l’impatto oggettivo e anche soggettivo. In questo saggioproporrò una ricostruzione delle tesi salienti del saggio di Catania del 1971 e, a partire da questa ricostruzione, metterò finalmente in bella forma alcune delle mie “osservazioni a margine” che si sono sedimentate nel corso degli anni sulla mia fotocopia, ormai lisa, de L’accettazione del diritto nel pensiero di Herbert L. A. Hart
Alfonso Catania dieci anni dopo. E oltre
No full textTrattasi dell’introduzione alla raccolta di scritti pubblicata in occasione del decennale della scomparsa di Alfonso Catania.
Il suo itinerario di ricerca, al confronto con l’attuale filosofia del diritto, sembra una ferrovia dismessa, un tempo percorsa da numerosi treni e tutti moderni, ma ora ricoperta da erbacce, quasi isolata dal resto della rete e ricordata solo da nostalgici di un tempo in cui fare filosofia del diritto significava fare teoria, nientemeno che generale, del diritto.
E tuttavia, della filosofia del diritto di Alfonso Catania è rimasto molto, ne è rimasto il «seme».
Fare filosofia del diritto per Alfonso Catania equivaleva, innanzitutto, a conoscere il diritto. Conoscere il diritto significa, in primo luogo, assumere il punto di vista esterno, il che equivale a mantenersi all’altezza di un compito della filosofia del diritto che era ed è tuttora quello critico: far vedere il diritto non per quello che dicono i suoi utenti, ma per quello che esso è, al di là dell’esoterismo che ha sempre circonfuso il sapere giuridico.
Ma fare filosofia del diritto per Alfonso Catania significava al tempo stesso riconoscere il diritto. Significa non rassegnarsi all’idea che dietro al velo del diritto non vi sia altro che il volto pietrificante della Gorgone, che non sia possibile distinguerlo da una banda di briganti; e significa, quindi, che esso non serve solo per sanzionare negativamente una realtà riottosa alle sue pretese normalizzanti, ma è anche tecnica promozionale, posta neutralmente al servizio della vasta fenomenologia storica degli interessi dei suoi utenti comuni
Absolute Measurements of the Free-Fall Acceleration g in Catania and Etna Volcano (Italy)
No full textThe work hereafter described was carried out on July 2008 by the Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM) of Turin (Italy) in the framework of a cooperation with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) – Catania Section.
The experimental results of absolute measurements of the free-fall acceleration g carried out at Catania and Etna Volcano are reported.
Gravity measurements were performed with the transportable absolute gravimeter IMGC-02
The role of alternating outcrops of sediments and basaltic lavas on seismic urban scenario: the study case of Catania, Italy
No full textExperimental data and numerical modelling were used to study the effect of local geology on the seismic response of the Catania area. The town extends on a marly clays bedrock and terraced deposits made up by coastal sands and alluvial conglomerates. This sedimentary substratum is deeply entrenched by paleo-valleys filled by lava flows and pyroclastics. Available borehole data and elastic parameters were used to reconstruct a geotechnical model in order to perfome 1D numerical modeling. Seismic urban scenarios were simulated considering destructive (Mw = 7.0), strong (Mw = 6.2) and moderate (Mw = 5.7) earthquakes to assess the shaking level of the different outcropping formations. For each scenario
seven real accelerograms were selected from the European Strong Motion Database to assess
the expected seismic input at the bedrock. PGA and spectral acceleration at different periods were obtained in the urban area through the equivalent linear numerical code EERA, and contour maps of different levels of shaking were drawn. Standard and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios were achieved making use of a dataset of 172 seismic events recorded at ten sites located on the main outcropping lithotypes. Spectral ratios inferred from earthquake data were compared with theoretical transfer functions. Both experimental and numerical
results confirm the role of the geological and morphologic setting of Catania. Amplification of seismic motion mainly occurs in three different stratigraphic conditions: (a) sedimentary deposits mainly diffused in the south of the study area; (b) spots of soft sediments surrounded by lava flows; (c) intensely fractured and scoriaceous basaltic lavas.In press4.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismicaJCR Journalrestricte
Absolute measurements of the free-fall acceleration g in Catania and Etna volcano
No full textThe work hereafter described was carried out on July 2009 by the /stituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM) of Turin (Italy) in the framework of a cooperation with the /stituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) — Catania Section. The experimental results of absolute measurements of the free-fall acceleration g carried out at Catania and Etna Volcano are reported. Gravity measurements were performed with the transportable absolute gravimeter IMGC-02
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