Urban security and religious presence: the role of ecclesial institutions in Italy’s urban peripheries

Abstract

This essay systematically reconstructs the connection between urban security and religious presence in peripheral contexts. Starting from the distinction between objective and subjective security, it frames the transition from a merely repressive paradigm to an "integrated" security, anchored in Articles 117 and 118 of the Constitution and the statutory definitions of Decree-Law 14/2017. The allocation of powers, constitutional jurisprudence, and the criteria of necessity, proportionality, and reasonableness define public intervention, preventing pan-security tendencies and safeguarding freedom and pluralism (Articles 8, 19, and 20 of the Constitution). Within this framework, ecclesiastical institutions operate as local infrastructures: not by substitution, but by subsidiarity, through co-planning and co-design tools, with measurable responsibilities. The reuse of heritage (can. 1222 CIC; art. 831 of the Civil Code) thus becomes a lever for regeneration, when embedded in transparent and non-discriminatory procedures. The suburbs, laboratories of coexistence, demonstrate that security is a relational good: it requires well-maintained spaces, educational networks, housing policies, and credible institutional oversight. A multilevel governance model emerges in which protection and trust are intertwined, transforming security from an exception to a key civic infrastructure of the city.