Latina was founded in 1932 by the Fascist Regime and is often described by its inhabitants through its absences, as a place where there is ‘nothing’. The book examines the role of absence in place-making and delves into the lived experience of Latina. Through the analytical lens of haunting, this work explores its inhabitants’ efforts to see their city as a meaningful social space, as they navigate its multiple histories and the absent presence of the contested past.

Elena Miltiadis is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Roskilde University, where she holds a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. She is a social anthropologist, whose work draws on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and explores themes of place-making, the legacies of contested pasts, temporality and youth participation in politics, with a focus on Italy and Chile.

“Excellent writing and captivating in style … this is a theoretically scrupulous and methodologically dedicated piece of research that delves into the nuances of conceptualizing local identity.” • Marco-Benoît Carbone, Brunel University London

“This is a well-written book which deals with a little known but quite intriguing history of the Italian town of Latina. It is both a classic European ethnography in the mould of the greats of bygone years (such as John Davis) and a contemporary, even future-oriented take on temporality, absence and existentialism.” • Daniel M. Knight, University of St. Andrews