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Pippa Bacca

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Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo (9 December 1974 – 31 March 2008), known as Pippa Bacca, was an Italian performance and feminist artist.

Pippa Bacca
Born
Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo

(1974-12-09)9 December 1974
Milan, Italy
Died31 March 2008(2008-03-31) (aged 33)
Gebze, Turkey
Cause of deathStrangulation after gang rape
NationalityItalian
Occupations

On 31 March 2008, Pippa Bacca disappeared in Gebze in Turkey during an international hitchhiking trip to promote world peace under the motto, "marriage between different peoples and nations".[1] Bacca and fellow artist Silvia Moro were symbolically wearing a wedding dress during their trek.[2] On 11 April 2008 the police arrested a man who later confessed to her murder and led the authorities to the discovery of her body.[2][3][4]

Biography edit

Early Life edit

Pippa Bacca was born on the 9th December 1974, as Giuseppina Valeria Laura Maria Pasqualino di Marineo in Milan. Her father, Guido Pasqualino di Marineo, was originally from Naples and descended from Neapolitan nobility. Her mother, Elena Manzoni dei Conti di Chiosca e Poggiolo, came from an affluent family and was the older sister of the artist Piero Manzoni.

Bacci was the third of five sisters and she also had a brother.[5][6] As children, their mother dressed Bacci and her sisters all in green to make them recognizable and not lose them.[7] As an adult, Bacci would make the decision to always wear the color green and she would also write all her letters and postcards in green ink.[5] Furthermore Bacca would become a vegetarian ,but once a year she would indulge herself and eat fish.

As her uncle died before the birth of Bacci she never met him; but as her mother Elena safeguarded her brother's artistic legacy and preserved his art, Bacci grew up well aware of her uncles artistic work and she and her siblings were raised "breathing the same creative air[8]" as their uncle.

Despite the family considering themselves asnonconformist, Bacca and her family were also devoutly Catholic. Both of Baccas parents were politically active; her father was the leader of the political party the Italian Monarchist Union in the 1970s, and her mother was involved in the Italian Democratic Socialist Party and considered a right wing liberal . They were also engaged in the Silenzia Maggiore movement (Silent Majority wich was formed as a reaction to the 1968 student protests in Italy.

Bacca herself would as an adult lean towards the left politically[7] but continue to be a believer and practitioner of the Catholic faith. She would always wear a chain around her neck with the image of Saint Joseph of Cupertino.

Baccis parents separated when she was jusr 5 years old,and then divorced in 198. Afterwards her family lived in the Azienda Lombarda Edilizia Residenziale public housing units located in Corso Garibaldi.[9] Sharing a strong family bond the sisters would call themselve “Il Neurone” (The neuron)[7] as the felt they were part of one neuron.

At a young age her mother instilled in Bacca a love of traveling and the family would explore Italy and Europe in an old van. In 1987, Bacci, her mother and her sisters traveled the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela[10] . They made their way through walking, biking and hitchhiking.

Education edit

Bacca attended a classical high school,(liceo classico) geared toward Italian and foreign literature, history, philosophy and art history. She had thoughts about pursuing a degree in mathematics,[11] but after her graduation instead of continuing her studies she decided to travel to Ireland [12] where she spent a year before returning to Italy to find work. On her return Bacca lived with her mother and sister Maria and found part time work in an interbank call center.[13]

Bacca also worked for Archivo Opere Piero Manzoni between 1998 and 2003[14] and helped the art historian Germano Celant compile a catalogue raisonné of her uncles art.

Artistic work edit

In 1995 Bacca started seriously pursuing being an artist. She was drawn to performance art; for example on an occasion Bacci went to meet a boyfriend at the Bergamo railway station where she dressed up as a mermaid and bathed in the fountain in front of the station.[9]

While dating another boyfriend who broke up with her and told he was not in love with her. Bacca in respones had one thousand five hundred badges printed with the words "I am in love with Pippa Bacca, Ask me why!" and distributed them all over Milan to make sure her ex-boyfriend would see them and how many people were in love with Bacca that he would reconsider his decision.[15]

But according to some sources her artistic projects and her excentric lifestyle were not one and the same though it could appear as such to outsiders.[9] It has also been expressed that Baccas aim was not to make a career as an artist but for the pursuit of art for its own sake.

Hitchhiking was a great interest of Bacca and she would travel both together with her family and on her own in countries such as Russia and Turkey. During the sometimes long waits for a lift Bacca would recite the Rosary. Bacca was also very familiar with the lives of saints and would talk at lenght about them when in company.

Incorporating her hitchhiking in her artistic work Bacca would photograph the people who gave her a lift and also later record their conversations.[9] These photographs would later be used in the 2004 exhibition Più oltre[16] wich was held in Perugia.

Bacca worked with different media, including photography, collage and embroidery. Her 2004 piece Surgical Mutations consisted of a series of leaves collected in a wood and cut-out as to resemble different floral species. In 2006 she had her first institutional solo exhibition, The Broken Image at Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan.[17]

Another project of Baccas was photographing people on the streets of Milan in 2007. These photos would then be put in glass jar with grappa and flour and then shaken With the dispersion of the grains of flour in the liquid, the effect would be that of mist (scighera in the Milanese dialect) was recreated around the photos.   

Bacci was also a singer and joined Coro di Micene, an historically anarchist choir in Milan She would then go on to start her own choir Bubble Gum in the summer of 2005.[18] Their finale number was always Besame Mucho but after the death of Bacca the choir always end it with the song "Moon River" wich was a favourite of Baccas.

For the choirs performances she would take on the persona of Eva Adamovich whose outfit included a black parakeet and an ostrich boa. This was something Bacca had stated in 1997 ,that she had five different aspects to her or rather alter egos.

The aforementioned Eva Adamovich, who wore only high heels and very heavy makeup, tight dresses and a wig. She called everyone "love" and "sweetheart," but she didn't trust anyone. She stated was a virgin because she was forever linked to her first love who died in tragic circumstances.[19] To further emphasize that they were two different people Pippa Bacca and Eva Adamovich had different telephone numbers.[7]

These were Pippa Pasqualino di Marineo, the hardworking employee of the call center where Bacca worked.[19]

Pippa Bacca This was her artist persona and who had many friends.[19] Bacca had been known by this name since her school days.[20] It was originally the name of a doll Bacci had owned as a child[21] and diminutive of "Giuseppina". It has also been claimed that her half-brother as a child was unable to say the name "Giuseppina" wich instead came out as Pippa. Pippa would then go on to add Bacca to the name since it means "cuddle" in the Milanese dialect and because it reminded her of the god Bacchus.

"The Green Rabbit"(Il coniglio verde) whose naked body was covered by a green cloak. It didnt appear very often.[7]

"Brides on Tour" edit

In 2006 Bacca started working on a performative piece to promote world peace called "Brides on Tour," with fellow artist Silvia Moro.[22] In the two years preceeding the project Bacca learnt Arabic as to be able to communicate with the people she would meet between Turkey and Jerusalem.

The artists, wearing white wedding dresses, departed from Milan on 8 March 2008, travelled through the Balkans and arrived in Turkey twelve days later. They had planned to hitchhike through the Middle East, their final destination being Jerusalem.[4][22] Concerning their attire, they reported on their website that "That's the only dress we'll carry along — with all stains accumulated during the journey."[3][23]

Disappearance edit

After travelling together across Europe, Bacca and Moro split up just prior to arriving in Istanbul, planning to meet up again in Beirut. Bacca was last seen on 31 March.[3] Her credit card was reportedly used at noon of that day.[4] Bacca's naked, strangled, and decomposing body was found in bushes near Gebze, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Istanbul.[1][2]

The man who led the police to her body, Murat Karataş,[3] was detained[2] and arrested after reportedly confessing to raping and strangling Bacca on 31 March after taking her in his Jeep from a gas station.[3] DNA testing suggested that Bacca was raped by multiple people, and not just Karataş.[24] The suspect said he was "under the influence of drugs and alcohol" and could not remember what happened.[25]

Karataş had been traced after he inserted his own SIM card into the victim's cell-phone - which alerted police, since he had a previous conviction for theft.[2] Bacca's own information was wiped from the mobile device, implicating, according to the lawyer for Bacca's family, at least one other accomplice since Karataş could not speak English and left school after the third grade.[25]

Funeral edit

Bacca’s funeral took place on April 19, 2008, in front of the San Simpliciano church of Milan. Over a thousand people were gathered and politicians Letizia Moratti and Barbara Pollastrini attended, as well as representatives of the Turkish authorities.[26]

Sidewalks and houses in the vincinity of the church were decorated with green balloons and banners. Baccis coffin was also covered in a cloth in her favorite color green and the choir she had started performed during the ceremony.

Baccis alter ego Eva Adamovich got an obituary in the newspapee Corriere della Sera where it was stated that she had "departed for a never-ending tour of the Bahamas".[18]

Bacca was buried in the family tomb in Casirate d'Adda with the dress she wore on her tour as it was the dress she wore at the time of her death.[18]

According to her mother she was also to buried with a pair of favorite green patchwork dungarees and the ostrich boa she had worn as Eva Adamovich and a gold chain with the medal of Saint Joseph of Copertino, patron saint of undisciplined students.

Aftermath edit

In the aftermath, Bacca's sister Maria gave a statement to the Italian news agency ANSA. "[Bacca's] travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and trust, but not everyone deserves trust... We weren't particularly worried because she had been hitchhiking for a long time, and thus was capable of avoiding risky situations... She was a determined person when it came to her art".[4]

The Turkish president Abdullah Gül called the Italian president Giorgio Napolitano to express his grief.[27] A commentary in Today's Zaman, while expressing sadness for the woman's death, criticized the supposed obsequiousness of Turkish politicians to "foreigners" in the Bacca case, writing: "Let's face it, if Pippa were a Turk, some people would feel free to say that a hitchhiking woman deserves to be raped." The columnist argued that local problems such as violence against women should be addressed regardless of Turkey's concern for being shamed before foreigners.[28] Hürriyet, a top selling Turkish newspaper, printed an article on the murder entitled "We are ashamed".[29]

On the occasion of the 2009 Art Festival in Faenza, Istanbul Biennial director Fulya Erdemci made a public apology on behalf of her country. Bacca's fellow traveler Silvia Moro returned to Milan and stopped making art after the incident.

Legacy edit

Bacca was an artist not much know outside Milan before her death ,but the manner of her death has become a symbol for the vulnerability of women and she has become to represent resistance and resilience. Her last project has continued inspiring others.

The performance artist Carolina Bianchi processes her own sexual assault in her piece "Cadela Força" (Bitch Strength) by taking a knockout drug and while still conscious she talks about the femicide of Bacca[30].

Tributes edit

A documentary about the story of Bacca, La Mariée (The Bride), was difilmmaker Joël Curtz in 2012.[31] The film features video archives from Bacca's camera that the film team had been able to recover.[32]

The White Dress (2020) is a semi-fictional account of the last days of Bacca by Nathalie Léger.

In 2020 the city of Milan dedicated to Bacca a public garden in the Brera district.[33]

See also edit

Bibliography edit

  • Giorgio Bonomi, Martina Corgnati, Brides on Tour, Fondazione Mudima, Milan, and Byblos Art Gallery, Verona, 2009.
  • Pippa Bacca, Eva e le altre, Cambi Editore, Poggibonsi, Italy, 2016.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Elisabetta, Povoledo (19 April 2008). "Performance Artist Killed on Peace Trip is Mourned". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d e "'World peace' hitcher is murdered". BBC News. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Missing Italian 'World Peace' Hitcher And Artist Found Dead In Turkey". All Headline News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d "'Brides for peace' protester found dead in Turkey". BreakingNews. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Pippa Bacca, mia sorella". Limina (in Italian). 9 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Pasqualino di Marineo". www.famiglienobilinapolitane.it. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Marelli, Marco Roberto (10 October 2021). "Pippa Bacca. A Journey Together". Made in Mind Magazine. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ "In Conversation: Piero Manzoni 'Materials of His Time' and 'Lines'". Hauser & Wirth. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d ""E di Pippa non mi chiedi nulla?"". Il Tascabile (in Italian). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "A plea for peace in white goes dark". Los Angeles Times. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  11. ^ Tagliabue, Cristina Sivieri (17 April 2008). "Ciao Pippa". Video Invaders (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  12. ^ Morello, Giulia (30 March 2018). "Un video per ricordare l'artista Pippa Bacca a 10 anni dalla sua scomparsa". Officine GM (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ Lombardi, Denise (2023). "Identités Mortelles". Revue du Mauss (62): 371–382 – via cairn.info.
  14. ^ "Comunicato Stampa Con Cortese Pregheira di Pubblicazione e Diffusion" (PDF). pippabacca.it. 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Simone Manetti partage son amour pour l'artiste italienne Pippa Bacca". culture.service.univ-rennes2.fr (in French). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  16. ^ "L'autostop – The hitch-hiking – Pippa Bacca" (in Italian). 13 November 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Pippa Bacca nell'Enciclopedia Treccani".
  18. ^ a b c Lombardi, Denise; Grossoni, Rossella (20 November 2020). "Singing with Pippa Bacca". Anthropology News. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  19. ^ a b c "Voci di artiste – recensione". serverdonne.info. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  20. ^ Tagliabue, Cristina Sivieri (17 April 2008). "Ciao Pippa". Video Invaders (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  21. ^ concha. "Pippa Bacca". Concha Mayordomo Artista (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Itinerary". Brides on Tour. Fotoup.net. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  23. ^ "Brides on Tour". Brides on Tour. Fotoup.net. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  24. ^ "Bacca faced multiple rape". Hürriyet Daily News. Istanbul. 2008.
  25. ^ a b Guler, Mehmet (5 November 2008). "Pippa Bacca murderer says he does not remember killing". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Milano - Anche il funerale di Pippa Bacca un'opera d'arte e di speranza". www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  27. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (19 April 2008). "Performance Artist Killed on Peace Trip is Mourned". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Karabat, Ayse (20 April 2008). "Being disgraced in the eyes of whom?". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  29. ^ "Missing Italian woman artist Pippa Bacca found dead in Turkey". Hürriyet. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  30. ^ "GUEST BLOG: 'Putting the female body on the line: from Carolina Bianchi and Pippa Bacca to Thecla' – Novel Saints: Ancient Fiction and Hagiography Research Centre". Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  31. ^ "The Bride (La Mariée)". JoëlCurtz.com. Joël Curtz.
  32. ^ "The Bride". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  33. ^ "Con Parco Nivea nuova vita per giardino Pippa Bacca a Milano - Economia". 7 June 2022.

External links edit

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