Francesco in Venice, the Giudecca and the art that sets you free

Benedetta Capelli – Venice

Next Sunday, April 28, will be first time day. The first time of Pope Francis in Venice, of a Pontiff who visits the art Biennale, of inmates who will see him for the first time in their lives. Women definitively convicted who found a way to put the pieces of their lives back together in Giudecca: some starting to sew, working in the laundry, specializing in cosmetics. Some of them have created a relationship of trust with the artists who animate the Holy See pavilion entitled “With my eyes”. They were listened to, valued in their thoughts, they entrusted their most cherished photos to the hands of those who transformed them into paintings.

Bregoli, Giudecca director: “The Pope forgets no one”

There is excitement among the inmates for Francesco’s arrival and also “a great emotion – says the doctor Mariagrazia Bregoli, director of the Giudecca women’s prison – because the message that the Pope wants to bring us is a universal message, of love, welcome, of the absence of judgment and of respect for those who observe without judging”. “In life – she adds – we make mistakes but they can be remedied and the Holy Father does not forget anyone and perhaps it is good that society does not forget those who made mistakes”. Director Bregoli underlines how important it is to consider prison part of society, often people don’t want to know or see it but it is there and it is a fact of reality. A place that looks outwards and is strongly committed to the work of reintegrating those who are detained. Participation in the Holy See Pavilion also adds to this trend of openness, in an undeniable dialogue between inside and outside.

Russo, head of the DAP: “The Pope dictated the title of this exhibition”

“It was an important choice, almost a provocation to the administration of justice, in particular the prison administration which deals with suffering, which deals with marginalisation”, says Doctor John Russo, head of the Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP), recounting the genesis of the Holy See pavilion project. “Pope Francis’ invitation is to open a window at least to hope and we have not held back”. Dr. Russo speaks of “a powerful proposal in which the beauty of art, the beauty of belief, of religion and the beauty of the recovery of a criminal, of someone who has made a mistake and has been convicted but who deserves a further opportunity, come together and the State must act in this sense.” The beauty of the project, adds the head of the DAP, pushed the Pope to come. “It intrigued him, he almost dictated the title: With my eyes which means a profound humanization of everyone’s life, each of us is an individual who must be recognized as having the right to express a thought, to interpret reality. This is the constitutional mandate: prisoners do not lose their rights, prisoners in prison are deprived of their freedom but their rights must be recognized and I think this also meets the thoughts and words of Pope Francis”.

Manuela, the detained guide

Inmates who became collaborators of the artists and inmates who began studying to accompany visitors to the Pavilion. Among them is Manuela who will leave Giudecca in a year. “I feel very honored to be able to participate in this work which will continue until November 2024,” she says. “Many of us have held different roles, there are those who have written, those who have done other works, they asked me if I wanted to be a guide and since I always speak, with the support of my companions – there are ten of us – we have very willingly accepted. Very fearful however and also very hesitant because it is not easy to be in contact with new people. It was very nice, very constructive and it will continue to be so.” Among her works on display there is also a painting of hers, the result of a reinterpretation by the artist Claire Tabouret, in which Manuela as a child takes her first steps towards her mother, something that moves her very much. While waiting for the Pope’s visit which makes all the inmates so emotional, Manuela says that her experience at Giudecca changed her life and her perspective on things. “I am rediscovering the positive sides, very beautiful, very instructive, very constructive and I hope to be able to bring them out to pass them on to my children and grandchildren”. Manuela fortunately looks to the tomorrow, a tomorrow that she has begun to build first of all starting from herself, taking advantage of the opportunities granted within the very high walls of the prison.