An interview with Roberto Paparella, an Italian criminologist, collector and artist, as well as the creator of a hybrid discipline that he christened "criminological art." Paparella provided us with comprehensive answers regarding his passion for criminology, which, over time, led him down the path of collecting and crime-related art to which he contributed by creating hyperrealist works made of wax and resin.
His Museum of Criminological Art (located in Olevano di Lomellina in the province of Pavia) houses inside it torture and electroshock instruments, weapons, photographs, books, mummified bodies, various relics and works of art that testify to nefarious events whose protagonists are executioners and victims. His passion and art focus more on the victim, who is very often forgotten and who, placed in a chilling context like Paparella's museum, inculcates a feeling of pity in viewers.
- Hi Roberto, thank you for giving us this interview. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your passion for criminology.
R.P.: I studied criminology in Padua, and for many years I have worked as the manager of a community for juveniles coming from the penal area. I have cultivated this interest in criminology collecting for more than 20 years, and, in large part, it was inspired precisely by the chats we used to have with the kids in the community, where topics such as legality education and delinquency in history were discussed. A passion for criminology and antiques did the rest.
Frequenting various markets, I found the first objects and paper materials, and from there, the collection probably began. Over the years the items accumulated and I noticed some interest from people in these artifacts.
I felt that each object told a story of suffering and hardship, and at the same time, facts of Italian crime were coming to light that had now fallen into oblivion.
I then thought of also reconstructing the main characters in the stories with hyperrealism techniques, based on anthropometric measurements, and slowly these bodies and stories came to life again.
Hence CRIMINOLOGICAL ART was born, that is, the intention, through art and collecting, to communicate crime. This communicating is not intended to give answers to such a vast subject, I am convinced that if someone asks the right questions the answers come automatically.
- As a criminologist, who do you think are the most heinous serial killers of all time? Is there any movie based on actual events that is true to the news stories? Which one would you recommend?
R.P.: If I have to think of the most heinous serial killer, the case of the Monster of Florence comes to mind but the story that fascinated me the most is the story of Rina Fort " The Beast of San Gregorio."
Although from a point of view of the reconstruction of events they do not closely match reality, the two films I would recommend are "Great boiled meat" by Mauro Bolognini because it renders well the idea of Leonarda Cianciulli's madness and "Psyco", masterfully directed by Alfred Hitchcock and inspired by the figure of Ed Gein.
- Your interest in crime has led you to collect objects related to this world over time (torture instruments, weapons, photographs, books and artwork). Tell us about your Museum of Criminological Art, in general.
R.P.: In the journey through my exhibition, which currently consists of 530 pieces (from the 1500s to the present day), visitors can meet victims and perpetrators and hear the protagonists tell their stories through a visual and sensory experience of the objects. With new eyes, it is no longer a macabre experience but the touching of a reality of our past that we have forgotten and that frightens us. We are in a society where the media, with respect to this topic, all give answers without understanding what the question is.
- What segment of the audience does it attract? What does this world of pain and madness convey?
R.P.: I don't think we can delineate a target audience, either by age or cultural background, but more generally, I think the fascination of the unknown and the curiosity to find out what lies behind the savagery of the human mind are the elements that attract visitors.
- You also make hyperrealist works in wax and resin faithfully reproducing the victims of the perpetrators and which, by the way, are on display in your museum. When was the first work made and what is the most recent?
R.P.: The first reconstruction dates back to 1998, Vincenzo Verzeni, the "vampire of Bergamo," a case studied by Cesare Lombroso, and the last is a scene referring to the "beasts of Satan" crimes.
- What does it feel like to create the mangled body of a young woman? What do you want to convey with your works? How is the victim seen through the eyes of a criminologist?
R.P.: The common thread of the criminological art is the victim who is very often forgotten about. È much easier to remember the perpetrator but I think the victims still have something to tell us.
My purpose is to give voice to the victims through an artistic experience by provoking feelings that will remain marked over mere empty words. Seeing, touching and listening to these objects stimulates feelings in us that allow us to ask questions.
- What is the victim whose story affected you the most? Why?
R.P.: The victims whose stories most affected me are Stefania Pettini and Pasquale Gentilcore. They are two young people found in the Florentine countryside in 1974 who are part of a series of crimes attributed to the "Monster of Florence," and, what disturbed me the most was the doggedness toward poor Stefania.
- Is your passion for this macabre realism also reflected in other artistic contexts (film, literature...)?
R.P.: I do not have a particular fondness for movies, but literature, besides being an enjoyable pastime, is often a source of inspiration and a valuable research tool.
- Thanks to Roberto Paparella from DarkVeins.
