Sex worker nel quartiere catanese di San Berillo: Presenze, resistenze e trasformazioni

This article argues that the presence of, use of space by, and spatial practices of sex workers in the historical red-light district of Catania (Italy) contributed to shaping the imaginaries of this space as well as its symbolic and tangible transformation. It relies on ethnographies conducted in the San Berillo district by two of the authors, interviews carried out by all three authors, and the collection of documentary material by one of the authors. We start the article by shortly illustrating the events that have mostly impacted on sex work in the district, including the changes in the national prostitution policy, the urban transformations that have affected the district in the mid-1950s, and the more recent police repression against sex workers. We then analyse the gathered material through the thematic categories of ‘presences’, ‘relations’ and ‘resistance’, and reflect on the spatial practices and spaces of representations that have emerged in the district. We conclude this article by illustrating how sex workers’ spatial practices in the district – which evidence their willingness to actively contribute to thinking and making the city – open new imaginaries of the future of urban living.