Care and Dwelling Culture

Dwelling reveals the definition of an “anthropological” existential space in which to experience relationships within the world. This living space is described by Christian Norberg-Schulz (Norberg-Schulz C (1979) Genius loci: Paesaggio, ambi-ente, architettura. Electa) as consisting of many spaces: a pragmatic space in which people satisfy their biological needs; a perceptual space; an abstract space of pure logical relations; a cultural space in which people find their collective activities as a community; and an expressive space related to art as an interpretation of change. In this spatial composition, man projects his image of the world into his environment in order to feel at home. And when the world becomes an interior, man is capable of dwelling, which then implies something more than shelter. Dwelling integrates both concepts of house—the shelter, the dimension of intimacy, comfort, pleasure and security, and the response to our biological needs; and home—the cradle of the inhabitant’s existence with its thoughts, memories and dreams, man’s primary world. A duality that is similarly found in the definition of care: a diligent and caring concern for a subject/object, which engages both our soul and our activity—caring for someone or something, actively looking after it, providing for its needs both physical and psychological. The link between the concept of care and living goes back to the ages and is not even referable to the human species alone. It is therefore necessary to identify a closer temporal and geographical span to try to trace some fundamental transitions and degrees of influence between the two terms, for this reason the period considered starts from the nineteenth century till today, and it took into account mostly the Western Countries.