Whiteness and ‘whiteness’ in Roma Termini

Abstract

This exploratory paper focuses on Rome's Stazione Termini, a large railway station and a site of mobil-ity and marginalization. Termini represents a microcosm of contemporary urban challenges, character-ized by development pressures and the ongoing exclusion of homeless people – most of whom are migrants. The article begins to explore the concept of ‘whiteness’ as manifested in both physical de-sign and social control of the station. The station's sanitized aesthetics and emphasis on commercial activity evoke a normative white/Italian/European identity, alongside general policing strategies and re-stricted access that creates a hostile environment for many. Drawing on scholarship on public space and race, the paper highlights the historical roots of exclusion in the station, tracing Termini's fascist-era origins and its ongoing role as a node in migration routes through Europe. I finish by positioning Termini within a wider European context, where railway stations serve as contested spaces grappling with commercial interests, urban development, and the needs of marginalized populations. It calls for further research into the policing of public spaces and the experiences of minoritized groups within them – and building on the work of Sara Ahmed, keeping complaint alive.