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FrancoAngeli Journals

Experimental geographies in urban outdoor spaces. Four artistic, playful and co-creative practices

No. 3 (2026)

Playing outdoors. Ludic approaches and urban spaces in Palermo’s historic centre.

  • Giacomo Spanu
  • Valentina Mandalari
  • Marco Picone
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rgioa3-2026oa23549
Submitted
agosto 26, 2026
Published
2026-10-05

Abstract

Starting from the experience of the urban game Il libro di Cagliostro, the article explores the potential of ludic approaches for geography. Inspired by the murder mystery party format but transposed into outdoor spaces, the game was conceived as an experimental device intertwining narrative, performance, and urban movement. The paper highlights the disruptive role of play in urban spaces, showing how it can interrupt everyday routines, make implicit norms visible, and activate alternative readings of place. From this perspective, outdoor space is not considered a mere setting for ludic action, but an active and porous element that interacts with the game and shapes its outcomes, thereby strengthening a form of public geography attentive to the relational, affective, and performative dimensions of space.

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