Palinsesto di una città divisa: Hermes Street, Nicosia

The article examines the spatial, morphological, and socio-cultural implications of division within the walled city of Nicosia, focusing on Hermes Street axes as a paradigmatic site where historical palimpsests intersect with contemporary geopolitical fracture. The original 1963 Green Line has evolved into a rigid barrier that nonetheless overlays and interacts with a deeply stratified urban fabric. Through a diachronic investigation of the city’s physical structure, the study reveals how urban elements persist as “invariants” that shape both spatial form and collective memory. To investigate these dynamics, the article introduces three analytical Atlases – Spatial, Typo-Morphological, and Ethnographic – that map liminal spaces adjacent to the Buffer Zone. These spaces, though physically constrained, function as micro-environments of everyday resistance, where ordinary practices of commoning and spatial appropriation subtly erode the rigidity of the border. The findings demonstrate how the morphological continuity of Nicosia persists despite political rupture, facilitating forms of reconnection that precede any formal reconciliation. Ultimately, the study argues that reading the city as a palimpsest provides a critical framework for understanding urban divisions and for envisioning future processes of repair and reintegration.