Introduzione alla semiotica dello spazio

Abstract

Space is one of the fundamental dimensions of experience, an element that structure people's lives. It often plays a prominent role in the debates of politicians, ecologists, and civil society, and because of its centrality it has received attention from various disciplines, not least semiotics. Compared to the vast panorama of studies on the topic, the semiotic perspective takes a step forward, considering space as a language that, through certain expressive elements (delimitations, arrangements of objects, predispositions of paths) conveys certain contents (valorised elements, permitted or forbidden practices, forms of sociality). Far from being a mere container of people and objects, space contributes to structuring relations, to conveying values, to defining the ways of acting of the people who live in it. It is not only a product of society, but also something through which society can be read. The book aims to illustrate the main tools of semiotic analysis of space, focusing on how to understand its deep articulations and the mechanisms that make it meaningful.