VIRTUAL: Prague Heritages

Abstract

The urban landscape is a palimpsest of previous historical, design and social phases. The results of these different phases of the past are the material structures and intangible atmospheres that make up the overall urban experience. The moving image, according to Webber & Wilson (2008), as a form of imaginary tour, shares the dynamics of a city walk and, at the same time, has the ability to create its own movement in it. Cinematic images, without faithfully representing the public space, have the ability to convincingly convey its reception. In addition, the cinematographic lens, acting as a catalyst, transforms the space into a carrier of meanings and messages and transports the viewer to a virtual reality. Kypseli is an area of the wider center of Athens, which was created during the first half of the 20th century and is admittedly an essential part of Athenian history. This paper proposes an alternative mapping of the urban landscape through films that represent and depict this district of Athens in the period of 1950 and 1960.The aim is to highlight the social history and the latest urban building and natural heritage of this neighborhood of Athens. Highlighting its particular historical and cultural values can also contribute to the planning and management of the area’s modern urban landscape. In addition, cinema as a recognized art form has the privilege of not being limited to the present but extending both into the past and the future. In this light, using it as a historical source, we are given the opportunity to see how the people of that particular era saw the past of their city, but also how they imagined its future.