“The Cinema Museum in Turin has inaugurated an exhibition dedicated to the studies of Cesare Lombroso, the scholar who – without any scientific basis – claimed that one becomes a delinquent based on one’s nature and therefore on one’s territorial origin. His bizarre theories, based in many cases on ‘studies’ of delinquents from the South and in particular from Naples, have been widely denied by science. Despite this, the Piedmontese capital continues to host a museum dedicated to him, where the finds from his ‘studies’ are exhibited and is even inaugurating new exhibitions dedicated to him. In this case, it is a collection of photographic finds showing the faces of people, in whom Lombroso claimed to find a propensity for delinquency. The exhibition at the Cinema Museum therefore shows deeply racist shots of delinquents, including Neapolitans, catalogued based on their geographical origin”. This is stated by the regional councilor of the Greens Francesco Emilio Borrelli and the host of “La Radiazza” on Radio Marte Gianni Simioli. “We will not delve into an analysis of the historical value of the finds but we underline that we believe it is extremely serious to show them without specifying the absence of any scientific value. In fact, the poster expressly indicates that they come from the photographic archive of the Museum of Criminal Anthropology of the University of Turin. The less attentive visitor could therefore be misled and believe that there is a scientific basis for the racist nonsense supported by Lombroso. A risk that is absolutely not worth running in an era like ours. We have therefore sent a note to the management of the museum asking to include indications that specify the absence of scientific value of the finds on display since, in its current state, the exhibition is offensive towards Neapolitans and southerners in general”.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to