The center of the center: The Buddhist temple and the Chinese new year in Prato’s urban space

Abstract

The article analyzes some important aspects of the relationships and of the spatial disputes between Temple of the “Associazione Buddista della comunità cinese in Italia” and Prato’s complex context. In the last three decades, the city – increased significantly thanks to the Italian internal migration after World War II – has been involved in a steady Chinese migration that transformed spatial relationships and ways of living. In this context, the Association-Temple organizes different group activities tied to the worship or fostered by the needs of the migration condition. On festive events, the Temple receives pilgrims coming from other Italian cities, and hosts with great care the political and religious authorities invited for the occasion, emphasizing the quantitative and socio-cultural weight of the Chinese community. The propulsive energy of the Temple emerges observing events and political dynamics related to the Chinese New Year, when the costume parade – promoted by the Association – crosses the professional and private lives of Prato’s families (Albanian, Moroccan, Italian, Chinese ...), evoking the symbolic right to use the city’s space throughout the year.