On Sunday, September 6th at 3:00 PM, the Andarò Festival at Montorio Castle in Verona will host a discussion featuring Diego Caloi (AGA), Giacomo Mormino (UniVr), and Giulio Saturni (COCAI), who will attempt to answer the question: “What are cities?” In the 1967 film ‘Othello’ directed by Pasolini, Ninetto Davoli and Totò—playing Othello and Iago—portray two marionettes who, after being tossed off-stage onto a rubbish heap, look up at the sky for the first time and ask: “What are those?” “They’re clouds.” “How beautiful! What are they for?” “I don’t know.” We ought to start from this very sense of wonder—and from this same unconventional vantage point—to ask ourselves the same question about cities: what are they? We know what they are for, or at least we think we do. They exist for living, working, producing, trading, commuting, and meeting others. We measure, plan, and administer them. Today, we calculate everything related to cities: square meters, rental yields, distances. We know their purpose so well that we have almost stopped asking ourselves what they truly are. We should try to strip the city of its utility, of the functions we have assigned to it and the ways in which we believe we know it; we must return to thinking about cities as if we were seeing them—finally—for the very first time.