‘Il teatro dal finestrino’. Letture percettive della città diffusa dal treno / ‘Theatre from the window’: perceptive readings of urban sprawl from the train

The ambiguous territory of urban sprawl, the elusive urban hybrid embodying society in constant transition, seems to be resistant to traditional types of urban analysis and has recently been addressed by phenomenological and multidisciplinary enquires. A layered and unpredictable data-base, such territories are generally experienced through railways and highways, which serve as narrative algorithms. Visual perception through the window of a running train reduces the territory to an apparent sequence of scenes, shifting in planes in relation the depth of visual field. This sort of dynamic theatre, which has many similarities with ancient and contemporary media, not only helps to break down the landscape into perceptually structured elements, but translates the experience of travelling into a visual spectacle with precise semantic and rhythmic components.