Introduction. Traces of Terror, Signs of Trauma

Abstract
The article introduces a collection of articles about the
spatialization processes of memory of war in contemporary
Europe. It is divided in three parts. The first part proposes a
transdisciplinary perspective, which includes semiotics, to tackle
the relations between space, heritage and cultural memory and
to analyse memory narratives conveyed by places. An approach
based on the investigation of “terrorscapes” (places with a high
density of traces) is proposed. The second part delves on the
notion of terrorscapes, focusing on the meaning of “terror” and
on the shift of paradigm in European politics of memory after
1989. The third part deals with the European space of memory,
questioning the possibility of construction of a shared European
memory narrative on XX centuries wars. Last paragraph
summarizes the contributions of the volume.
Keywords
cultural memory, spatial turn, Europe, places of memory, war