Saturday evening, Turin, a sold-out conference room at the Pacific Hotel. No, it is not the incipit of a worldly story, but of an event that attracted those tired of pre-packaged evenings: Criminallythe first conference organized by Aleda Apsthe association just founded by Alessia Costanzo with an ambitious goal – prevent crime.
Three important figures lead the way: Sergio Carusocriminologist and psychologist with a CV that commands respect; Carlo Romanopsychiatrist who spent years “behind bars”; And Marco Dapinoone of the best-known criminal lawyers in the country. The event, already sold-out days before, transformed the hotel conference room into a real criminological analysis classroom. Among the audience there were professionals in the sector, lawyers, psychologists, social workers and many onlookers, who did not miss the opportunity of an alternative Saturday evening. Even a large group of “ComeHome” – including the influential Sara Castellinoknown as “Pinky” – was there, ready to immerse himself in an evening of questions and reflections, where each intervention brought to the surface not only theories, but experiences lived in the field.
The evening opened with the screening of a scene from the film Jokerin which Joaquin Phoenix, in the title role, sits across from his psychiatrist and whispers, “You wouldn’t understand.” Words that almost seemed like a warning for the evening, an invitation not to stop at appearances. Immediately afterwards, Sergio Caruso entered the scene, opening the conference with a speech that immediately set the record straight: “No, sudden fits don’t exist. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to commit a massacre.”
Then it was Romano’s turn, who led those present to reflect on how prison walls do not simply keep society out, but contribute to shaping minds and behaviors in often invisible ways. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but undeniable. Between anger, frustration and distortions of the psyche, prison turns out to be a borderland between madness and lucid brutality, where the word “rehabilitation” sounds almost ironic. And when Dapino’s time came, the picture was now complete: justice is not an exact science and, when it comes to crime, there are infinite nuances which are not always answered in the codes. It was an evening that left everyone with something to think about. Not a theoretical parenthesis, but an immersion in the real world that broke down, at least for a few hours, the barriers between public and private, between good and evil, between rational and irrational. CriminalMente was not just a conference: it was a cross-section of reality worth returning to. And now we have decided to share everything with you, readers, with an online episodic format. No detail will be lost, because every intervention deserves the necessary space.
Alessia Costanzo and Sergio Caruso
