Marina di Ravenna, Italy

How did the skate scene develop in Ravenna?

In the early days of skateboarding in Italy, local skaters built their own boards and carelessly dived down the winding alleyways and cobblestone street in cities like Genoa, inevitably hurting themselves and leading the authorities to eventually deem the discipline dangerous and, hence, illegal. Anyway, by 1978 even the CONI had recognized it as a sport, although the real underground skating has always been more tightly connected to the punk and hardcore scenes, all three spreading through the growing phenomenon of fanzines.

But forget Venice Beach and the Z-Boys, we're at Marina di Ravenna and skaters gather at the Bukowski tavern instead of the Zephyr Shop. You don't smell the legend of Dogtown necessarily, but you can sip on some Sangiovese and gorge yourself on piadinas. The Oasi Skate Park, inside of the Bukowski, is a staple for skaters in the area and beyond, yearly hosting the Slam Trick festival. The two-day skating spree is a chance for board lovers to meet on the seaside and toast to their bruises while enjoying the Riviera atmosphere.

Mission Report

This year Slamtrick was under the hippie influence of English artist Fergadelic who gave his freaky view to the contest.
As we arrived in Marina di Ravenna, we decided to had a couple of beer at the Taverna Bukowski, to get in the right mood for Slamtrick.
On Saturday morning we woke up early, took up our camera to go to the Oasi Skatepark to interview Marco Morigi, the owner and builder of the skatepark.
He is a skater too: he wanted to skate but he didn't know where, so he built his own park.
Marco taught us the skater greeting: slap hands, shake them and then punch them one against another.
Our impression is that skateboarding is such a hard and masculine sport, so we decided to get another point of view of this scene: having (another) beer, we met the owner of Taverna Bukowski: a woman, who confided us why so many girls go every year to this contest.
Slamtrick is not only a skateboarding contest but moreover a showcase of unconventional way of living, having fun and hang out.
Skateboarding teaches you that it doesn't matter if you are a child or a freak, or no one knows you; it teaches you that bravery, time and constancy could give you the respect of others and are the most important values you should believe in. You cannot cheat when skateboarding.
Skaters and people at Slamtrick are quite easy and beers do the rest.
On Sunday, the crowd started to arrive around 1 PM, waiting for the show under the sun, watching skaters dropping ramps, riding handrails, flying between transfers or surfing the bowl.
4.15 pm: the contest begins. Five heats to elect the FreakOut Trick, the Cosmic Trick, and the Best Trick of the day…
Slamtrick ends at 7.30 pm but the will of staying there with our new brothers and sisters for at least another night, lead us leaving at 11 pm.
Slamtrick is a family: almost the same people every year, almost the same things to do, every year sunset and sunrise talking about nothing with people you met there, maybe at the BocaBarranca party... Slamtrick allows you to feel at home also if you are an outsider.
Anna Mazzone, Fabiana Dinoi