Evicted From Eternity_ The Restructuring of Modern Rome - Michael Herzfeld [26]
Fig. 2. Reflecting on past and future-a Monti glassmaker. Photo by Michael Herzfeld.
There is a sad irony in this accelerating alienation. Artisans and small shopkeepers have long been the economic backbone of Monti. Artisans are generally regarded as conservative loners, although it is important to distinguish those who provide essential services at what is often a rather basic level-carpenters, ironworkers, and builders-from those who present themselves as artists who make original works that are aesthetic rather than functional.' The latter can command the more substantial income that comes with a clientele that is not purely local. Some also have their own Web sites; there have also been attempts to create more inclusive Web sites that would project the weaker artisans' work out into this larger environment. The more specialized and artistically innovative artisans are best equipped to survive in the competitive arena of the new economy. Among the latter, two glassmakers (vetrafl are especially prominent; they are also intellectually active, and one is involved in left-wing politics. Most of the humbler artisans are not so much hostile to the political Left as indifferent to it, both because their individualistic style of working sits uneasily with cooperative social action and because the Left itself has always favored factory workers while regarding artisans as marginal and conservative.
Artisans are also notoriously reluctant to enter into cooperative arrangements beyond those between close kin-in our street two brothers repaired upholstery, while on the other side of the road a jeweler worked with his partner and relative, a retired clockmaker. Even the upholsterer brothers had their rough patches, because the one who did more of the design work found his concentration weakened by the other's love of listening to the radio all day; for no very obvious reason, he blamed the latter for a delivery of fish intended for the restaurant next door but dumped at their doorstep instead-it would, he insisted, create a lasting, distracting stink. Partnerships involving unrelated individuals are even harder to sustain, and relatively rare; they are subject to ever-increasing economic pressures that add to their instability. In 1993, when a four-person furniture restoration team split up, the single artisan who wanted to continue the rental agreement for their workspace had to negotiate a new contract; the owner more than doubled the rent established in the previous contract eight years earlier.
Attempts to mobilize the artisans against these processes repeatedly foundered on their mutual suspicion. One Monti goldsmith participated in 1988-1989 in the creation of a citywide cooperative in which two out of the twelve participating firms had their workshops in Monti; but this body collapsed after five years as a result of disagreements about the relations among those who were productive artisans and others who only sold jewelry made by others. Had they stayed together, they might have succeeded in organizing exports to the United States and reaping considerable individual profits from this venture. But most preferred to concentrate on immediate, local sales from their shop windows. This was a safe, familiar conduit; outsiders who happened to see something they liked were not a dependable source of income.
That attitude worked well enough as long as the district remained predominantly working-class, but it has proved disastrously maladaptive under present conditions. With the exception of the few artisans who have focused on beauty rather than utility, most find themselves marginalized by their social as well as their technical traditionalism. They are ill prepared for the new forms of market economy. Their work lacks