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Comprised of twenty-eight ethnographic profiles, Napoli Navigators is about the people who act as bridge builders, brokers, translators, and connectors in the city of Napoli. It explores how embodied expertise mediates the material and practical contradictions produced by shifts at global, national, regional, and virtual scales. These “navigations” offer new understandings and insights into the contemporary historical moment, both in Napoli and beyond.
Lisa Björkman is a political ethnographer and urban anthropologist on the faculty of Urban and Public Affairs at University of Louisville. She is also a Research Associate at the Max Planck Institute of Social Anthropology in Halle (Saale) and a Visiting Fellow at Malmö University’s Institute of Urban Research. She is the author of Pipe Politics, Contested Waters: Embedded Infrastructures of Millennial Mumbai (Duke, 2015), Waiting Town: Life in Transit and Mumbai’s Other World-Class Histories (Columbia, 2020), Bombay Brokers (Duke, 2021), and Drama of Democracy: Political Representation in Mumbai (Minnesota, 2025).
Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
General Maps
Introduction. Navigating the Waters of Translation
Lisa Björkman
Part I. Bene: Navigating Value Regimes
Introduction to Part I: Bene
Lisa Björkman
Chapter 1. Antonio: Curator of Political Conscience
Magnus Course
Chapter 2. Nives: Serving up Solidarity
Lisa Björkman
Chapter 3. Chianese: Waste Entrepreneur
Salvatore de Rosa
Chapter 4. Filomena: Welcomer of Strangers
Martina Piccolo and Lisa Björkman
Chapter 5. Matteo: Fashion Bridge-Builder
Grazia Ting Deng
Chapter 6. Samir: Maker of Markets
Eugenia Santoro and Cristina Trey
Part II. Patrimonio: Navigating Heritage Claims
Introduction to Part II: Patrimonio
Francesco Vietti
Chapter 7. Stella: Concierge of Intimacies
Maria Carolina Vesce
Chapter 8. Francesco: Actualizer of Authenticity
Luca Fortis
Chapter 9. Sasanka: Cultivator of Knowledge
Capucine Tournilhac
Chapter 10. Modou: Narrator of Territories
Antonia Lucia Dawes and Andreina Lopes Pinto
Chapter 11. Miriam: Harmonizer of Histories
Alberta Tagliacozzo
Part III. Territorio: Navigating Space and Place
Introduction to Part III. Territorio
Capucine Tournilhac
Chapter 12. Roberto: Teller of Stories
Lisa Björkman
Chapter 13. Gennaro: ‘Just a Driver’
Marilena Prisco
Chapter 14. Ines: Cultivator of Beauty
Capucine Tournilhac
Chapter 15. Ottaviano: Caretaker of the Commons
Antonio Vesco
Chapter 16. Nicola & Ananda: Securers of Space
Osvaldo Costantini
Chapter 17. Toni: Guardian of the Street
Lorenzo Rinaldi
Part IV. Diritto: Navigating Rights
Introduction to Part IV. Diritto
Tommaso Sbriccoli
Chapter 18. Antonia: Redeemer of the Abandoned
Chiara Feliciani
Chapter 19. Rosaria: Spatializer of Justice
Chiara Mazzarella
Chapter 20. Dana: Defender of Reproductive Rights
Gaia di Girolamo
Chapter 21. Paolo: Filler of Forms
Mattia Pagni
Chapter 22. Fatou: Cooking up Connections
Marzia Mauriello
Chapter 23. Anna: Communicator of Care
Tamara Mykhaylayak
Part V. Cunsulà: Navigating Pleasure and Pain
Introduction to Part V. Cunsulà
Lisa Björkman
Chapter 24. Mario Guarino: Pain Pacifier
Simona Frasca
Chapter 25. Oscar: Singer of Peace
Salvatore Giusto
Chapter 26. Pino Santoro: Performer of Emotion
Claudio Rizzoni
Chapter 27. Prosper: Translator of Cosmologies
Sofia Moriconi
Chapter 28. CiroCiretta: Gatekeeper of Mystery
Luca Fortis
Epilogue
Michael Herzfeld
Glossary
Index