A priest in jeans, beloved by the youth and disliked by certain powers. An inconvenient figure who has left a deep mark on the collective memory of the Sanità district. Father Giuseppe Rassello is back in the news thanks to journalist Giuliana Covella's new book, Apri gli occhi – Storia di padre Giuseppe Rassello, un prete scomodo alla Sanità (Open Your Eyes – The Story of Father Giuseppe Rassello, an Inconvenient Priest in the Sanità District ), published by Guida, with a preface by Roberto Saviano.
The case broke out in June 1990, when Rassello was arrested in church, immediately after celebrating a wedding. The accusation: child abuse. An accusation that split the neighborhood in two and transformed it, from a point of reference for local youth, into the target of a ferocious media campaign.
Covella reconstructs that story with journalistic rigor and documents in hand: court documents, parliamentary questions, and testimonies. Between the lines emerges the face of a priest who, beyond the shadows of the law, was the seed of a cultural change that continues to make the Sanità flourish today . This is demonstrated by the voices of the young people of that time, now men who tell a different story, one of values, art, and social redemption.
"This book is a rare gift ," Saviano writes in his introduction. "The story of Father Rassello is a precursor to what would happen in the following decades in Italy: media-driven trials, alleged perpetrators, silences and outcry." The volume will be presented on June 24th at 6:00 PM at Spazio Guida, Via Bisignano 11, Naples.
Follow Chronicles of Campania
Official channels
.cdc-channel-bar {
width: 100%;
box-sizing: border-box;
display: flex;
align-items: center;
justify-content: space-between;
gap: 14px;
padding: 9px 11px;
background: #ffffff;
border: 0;
border-radius: 14px;
box-shadow:
0 3px 14px rgba(0,0,0,.045);
font-family:
system-ui,
-apple-system,
BlinkMacSystemFont,
"Segoe UI",
sans-serif;
}
/* BRAND */
.cdc-channel-brand {
min-width: 0;
display: flex;
align-items: center;
gap: 9px;
}
.cdc-channel-logo {
width: 34px;
height: 34px;
flex: 0 0 34px;
display: block;
object-fit: contain;
border-radius: 9px;
}
.cdc-channel-text {
min-width: 0;
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
line-height: 1.15;
}
.cdc-channel-text strong {
color: #171717;
font-size: 13px;
font-weight: 750;
white-space: nowrap;
}
.cdc-channel-text span {
margin-top: 2px;
color: #777;
font-size: 9px;
font-weight: 600;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: .055em;
}
/* ICONE */
.cdc-channel-links {
flex: 0 0 auto;
display: flex;
align-items: center;
gap: 7px;
}
.cdc-channel-icon {
width: 36px;
height: 36px;
flex: 0 0 36px;
display: inline-flex;
align-items: center;
justify-content: center;
border-radius: 50%;
color: #ffffff !important;
text-decoration: none !important;
box-shadow:
0 3px 9px rgba(0,0,0,.12);
transition:
transform .15s ease,
box-shadow .15s ease,
filter .15s ease;
}
.cdc-channel-icon svg {
width: 19px;
height: 19px;
fill: currentColor;
}
.cdc-channel-icon:hover {
transform: translateY(-1px) scale(1.04);
box-shadow:
0 5px 12px rgba(0,0,0,.16);
filter: brightness(1.03);
}
/* COLORI UFFICIALI */
.cdc-channel-whatsapp {
background: #25D366;
}
.cdc-channel-instagram {
background:
radial-gradient(
circle at 30% 107%,
#fdf497 0%,
#fdf497 5%,
#fd5949 45%,
#d6249f 60%,
#285AEB 90%
);
}
.cdc-channel-messenger {
background:
linear-gradient(
135deg,
#00B2FF 0%,
#006AFF 52%,
#A033FF 100%
);
}
/* MOBILE */
@media (max-width: 520px) {
.cdc-channel-bar {
gap: 8px;
padding: 8px 9px;
border-radius: 12px;
}
.cdc-channel-logo {
width: 30px;
height: 30px;
flex-basis: 30px;
}
.cdc-channel-text strong {
font-size: 11px;
max-width: 180px;
overflow: hidden;
text-overflow: ellipsis;
}
.cdc-channel-text span {
font-size: 8px;
}
.cdc-channel-links {
gap: 5px;
}
.cdc-channel-icon {
width: 32px;
height: 32px;
flex-basis: 32px;
}
.cdc-channel-icon svg {
width: 17px;
height: 17px;
}
}
/* TELEFONI MOLTO PICCOLI */
@media (max-width: 380px) {
.cdc-channel-text span {
display: none;
}
.cdc-channel-text strong {
max-width: 135px;
font-size: 10.5px;
}
.cdc-channel-logo {
width: 28px;
height: 28px;
flex-basis: 28px;
}
.cdc-channel-icon {
width: 30px;
height: 30px;
flex-basis: 30px;
}
}
The book about Father Rassello seems interesting but there are many questions that remain unanswered. How is it possible that such an important figure was accused of such serious things? The memory of the Rione Sanità is complex.