Via Anelli Wall
Encyclopedia
The Via Anelli Wall was a three-metre-high wall built of steel
, with a length of eighty four metres, which encircled the Via Anelli quarter of Padua
, northern Italy
. It was built in 2006 and torn down in 2007.
The area contains six apartment blocks that house roughly 1500 people. The area used to be popular with students, but is now mainly populated by people from Africa
seeking asylum in Italy
.
The building of the wall was motivated by the extremely high crime
rate in this quarter.
In particular the estate was the scene of mass rioting between gangs made up of immigrants from Nigeria
and Morocco
, and was well known for drug dealing. The construction of the wall, which was equipped with a checkpoint
, was completed in two days; some opponents dubbed it Padua
's Berlin Wall
.
The wall was demolished between September and October 2007 after all the buildings inside it had been evacuated and all the people living there had been guaranteed fair resettlement.
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, with a length of eighty four metres, which encircled the Via Anelli quarter of Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was built in 2006 and torn down in 2007.
The area contains six apartment blocks that house roughly 1500 people. The area used to be popular with students, but is now mainly populated by people from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
seeking asylum in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The building of the wall was motivated by the extremely high crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
rate in this quarter.
In particular the estate was the scene of mass rioting between gangs made up of immigrants from Nigeria
Nigerian organized crime
Nigerian organized crime, or Nigerian OC, may refer to a number of fraudsters, drug traffickers and racketeers of various sorts originating from Nigeria...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and was well known for drug dealing. The construction of the wall, which was equipped with a checkpoint
Civilian checkpoint
Civilian checkpoints or Security checkpoints are distinguishable from border or frontier checkpoints in that they are erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary control...
, was completed in two days; some opponents dubbed it Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
's Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
.
The wall was demolished between September and October 2007 after all the buildings inside it had been evacuated and all the people living there had been guaranteed fair resettlement.
External links
- Padua builds wall in drugs battle
- Ring of steel locks in immigrants
- Italy's great wall designed to seal in the criminals
- http://www.redglobe.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1048&Itemid=86
- news.bbc.co.uk, Ring of steel divides Padua (report dated 2006-09-28)