1JZGauQ

AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN
Many of the buildings at the crossings remain today but their usage has
mostly changed. Most appear abandoned while a small number have been
converted for domestic or official use. At the former crossing points in the
study area the buildings are still standing but are no longer used. At the
crossings by Casa Rossa/Rožna Dolina and San Andrea/Vrtojba 1 the
border police still have a presence but it is much scaled down and the
majority of the time there is no staff to be seen. During my two fieldwork
visits to the area I passed the border numerous times and was never
stopped. Only on a couple occasions did I actually see any border staff near
the border. At the Casa Rossa/Rožna Dolina crossing the cars are still
directed through lanes but all road blocks and barriers have been removed.
At San Pietro/Šempeter most of the crossing infrastructure has been removed
on the Slovenian side and the only traces that remain are marks in
the ground from the roof that previously stretched across the road here. The
building that was previously used for the border guards here now look like
any other building in this domestic neighbourhood. On the Italian side the
previous customs building is abandoned and deteriorating. The roof that
previously covered the road on the Italian side has also been removed. The
smaller buildings that functioned as customs and border police headquarters
at the two Solcano/Solkan crossings, Rafut/Pristava and Merna/Miren
are still present but there is no longer any activity here. At Rafut/Pristava
there are still barriers on the Italian side (painted in the Italian colours) to
stop traffic getting through at what is now a pedestrian crossing. At the San
Gabrielle/Erjavčeva ulica crossing there is still a high roof over the Italian
side customs buildings (Figure 44). At this same crossing only one of the
previous three small huts placed in between oncoming and going traffic
remain on the Italian side. Traces of the two other huts can still be seen in
the ground where the tarmac has been patched together. All barriers have
been removed and the signs that instruct people to stop for customs have
been replaced with signs about the speed limits within Italy.
As the border between what is now Slovenia and Italy is more open, crossing
the border has become easier and is also encouraged in places. Many
border crossings are now unmanned and vegetation is slowly taking over the
structures and tarmacked areas. Shops and amenities such as petrol stations
and casinos located near border crossings demonstrate how other actors have
moved in to supply a new demand as one actor’s control of the border
decrease and other actors now influence the behaviour by the border.
102