Pippa Bacca

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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

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

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]

Pippa Bacca was born 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, was the older sister of artist Piero Manzoni.

As her uncle died before the birth of Bacci she never met him; but as her mother Elena safeguarded her brothers artistic legacy and later through the Piero Manzoni Foundation. Bacci grew up well aware of her uncles artistic work and she and her siblings was raised "breathing the same creative air[5]".

Bacci was the third daughter of five sisters and she also had a brother[6][7]. As children, their mother dressed Bacci and her sisters in the same way to make them recognizable and not lose them[8]. Bacci would as an adult always wear green and write letters and postcards in green ink[6].

Baccis parents divorced in 1986 and afterwards the her family lived in the ALER (Azienda Lombarda Edilizia Residenziale) public housing units located in Corso Garibaldi[9].

At a young age her mother instilled in Bacci a love of traveling and the family explored Italy and Europe in an old van. In 1987 at the age of 12 Bacci,her mother and sisters traveled the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela[10] by way of walking,biking and hitchhiking.

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. Bacca would photograph the people who gave her a lift and also later record their conversations[9].

But according to friends her artistic projects and her excentric lifestyle were not one and the same though it could appear as such to outsiders[9].

As an adult Bacca lived with her mother and sister and worked in call centers. In 1995 Bacca started pursuing a career as an artist. Like her famous uncle 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][9]

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.[11]

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[12]. For the choirs performances she would take on the persona of Eva Adamovich whose outfit included a black parakeet and an ostrich boa.

The name Pippa Bacca was originally the name of a doll Bacci had owned as a child[13].

Another alter ego was "The Green Rabbit"(Il coniglio verde) whose naked body was covered by a green cloak.

"Brides on Tour"[edit]

In 2008 Bacca started working on a performative piece to promote world peace called "Brides on Tour," with fellow artist Silvia Moro.[14] 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][14] 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][15]

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.[16] The suspect said he was "under the influence of drugs and alcohol" and could not remember what happened.[17]

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.[17]

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[18].

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[19]."

Bacca was buried with the dress she wore on her tour as it was the dress she wore at the time of her death[12].

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.[20] 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.[21] Hürriyet, a top selling Turkish newspaper, printed an article on the murder entitled "We are ashamed".[22]

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.

Tributes[edit]

A documentary about the story of Bacca, La Mariée (The Bride), was directed by the French filmmaker Joël Curtz in 2012.[23] The film features video archives from Bacca's camera that the film team had been able to recover.[24]

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.[25]

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. ^ "In Conversation: Piero Manzoni 'Materials of His Time' and 'Lines'". Hauser & Wirth. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Pippa Bacca, mia sorella - Limina | Rivista Culturale Online". Limina (in Italian). 9 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ "PASQUALINO DI MARINEO". www.famiglienobilinapolitane.it. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ Marelli, Marco Roberto (10 October 2021). "PIPPA BACCA. A JOURNEY TOGETHER. • Made in Mind Magazine". Made in Mind Magazine. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e ""E di Pippa non mi chiedi nulla?"". Il Tascabile (in Italian). 17 November 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ Twitter; Instagram; Email; Facebook (31 May 2008). "A plea for peace in white goes dark". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. ^ "Pippa Bacca nell'Enciclopedia Treccani".
  12. ^ a b Grossoni, Denise Lombardi, Rossella (20 November 2020). "Singing with Pippa Bacca". Anthropology News. Retrieved 31 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ concha. "Pippa Bacca". Concha Mayordomo Artista (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Itinerary". Brides on Tour. Fotoup.net. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  15. ^ "Brides on Tour". Brides on Tour. Fotoup.net. Archived from the original on 7 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  16. ^ "Bacca faced multiple rape". Hürriyet Daily News. Istanbul. 2008.
  17. ^ 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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ "Milano - Anche il funerale di Pippa Bacca un'opera d'arte e di speranza". www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it (in Italian). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  19. ^ Grossoni, Denise Lombardi, Rossella (20 November 2020). "Singing with Pippa Bacca". Anthropology News. Retrieved 31 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (19 April 2008). "Performance Artist Killed on Peace Trip is Mourned". The New York Times.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "Missing Italian woman artist Pippa Bacca found dead in Turkey". Hürriyet. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
  23. ^ "The Bride (La Mariée)". JoëlCurtz.com. Joël Curtz.
  24. ^ "The Bride". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  25. ^ "Con Parco Nivea nuova vita per giardino Pippa Bacca a Milano - Economia". 7 June 2022.

External links[edit]

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