Nightlife as Urban Pulse: Dialogues on Regenerating Spaces in Italy
Spazi rigenerati e rigeneranti: un viaggio tra vita notturna e territori


By Eleonora Diamanti
In November 2024 and March 2025 ARCI Nazionale, Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana (Italian Cultural Recreational Association) organized a series of events and roundtables on nightlife and night culture inviting International Night Studies Network’s member Eleonora Diamanti to take part in the conversation.
In November 2024, ARCI organized a panel titled “Inhabiting daily margins: spaces and cultures of the night” at the national gathering on culture held in the city of Modena including cultural event organizers and promoters, city administrators, activists and advocates of nightlife to join forces and open a debate on the state of night culture at the national and local level (here the full list of participants). The meeting was a first step and fruitful gathering for reframing night culture, associational and community-led nightlife, as central to city life and night-time economy. Follow this link to read the report of the national meeting.
This first meeting was followed by a local gathering and public round-table held in the city of Ancona in March 2025, in a time when Italian municipal administrators are increasingly creating night-time economy plans and appointing night-time officers.
The Night Studies Network was proudly represented by Eleonora Diamanti (John Cabot University), whose research stands at the intersection of urban media, cultural policy, and nocturnal life. A longstanding member of the Network, Eleonora offered critical insights into the symbolic and material importance of nighttime, emphasizing how practices after dark illuminate broader questions of visibility, governance, inclusion and the right to the city. Her contribution invited participants to rethink night not just as a timeframe, but as a political and cultural space.
Also joining the debate was Emily Marion Clancy, Bologna’s Deputy Mayor with a specific mandate on the night-time economy. She shared ongoing municipal strategies to strengthen nighttime governance through participatory and inclusive frameworks—highlighting Bologna’s pioneering role in implementing night oriented initiatives.
Read the article “Nostra è la notte: piccolo viaggio tra le culture e le politiche della notte in Italia e non solo”authored by Eleonora Diamanti for CheFare reflecting on the latest Italian night-time governance initiatives and broader issues related to the night.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Manuel Garcia-Ruiz (March 7, 2025). Nightlife as Urban Pulse: Dialogues on Regenerating Spaces in Italy. International Night Studies Network. Retrieved June 10, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/13l29
