A wall in Turin is no longer just a wall: it has become a voice and memory. In Corso Vercelli 124, in the heart of the Barriera district of Milan, “This is not love” now stands out, the mural dedicated to Giulia Cecchettin, the young woman from Padua killed two years ago by her ex-boyfriend. The words of his diary are now a message visible to all, a call to recognize the signs of violence and to say enough.
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The project was born within the “Women & the City” festival, created with the support of the Municipality of Turin and in collaboration with Torino Creativa. The official inauguration is set for Monday 20 October, in the presence of the mayor Stefano Lo Russo, the councilor Carlotta Salerno, the president of Torino Città per le Donne, Antonella Parigi, the president of the 6th district Valerio Lomanto, Alessandro Di Mauro of the Avvalorando cultural association and the Barbara B and Aics Torino cooperative.
The young artist Nina Gruppi, a student of the 5th A Figurative Arts of the Primo Liceo Artistico of Turin, guided by professor Daniele Alonge, brought the mural to life. Among twenty-seven sketches created by the students, Giulia’s father, Gino Cecchettin, chose the one that best represented his daughter. As he told La Stampa, “Now those sentences, the power of his message have been transformed into art. If Giulia could see them, I am sure she would be proud of them. All the drafts were beautiful: choosing one was difficult, because each one told Giulia in a different way, but always with great respect and sensitivity. When I saw the finished mural I felt profound gratitude.”
The wall that houses the work belongs to Donatella Barale, who made the space available to the project free of charge. For years the wall had been courted by companies for advertising, but this time it became a social message against violence against women.
Some of the most powerful sentences from Giulia’s diary emerge on the walls, describing behaviors of jealousy, possession and control on the part of her ex-boyfriend: “When he wants it, you can’t not have it otherwise he becomes insistent”, “Your spaces tend to not exist”, “He would never accept a solo holiday of mine with males in the group”. Words that today have become public art and collective memory, transforming personal suffering into a shared warning.
The mural anticipates the third edition of the “Women & the City” festival, which will open on October 22nd at the Luigi Einaudi Campus with a lecture by the economist Tito Boeri entitled Paternity and gender gaps. The festival will last eight days, with over 100 events between Turin and seven municipalities in the metropolitan area, and will host more than 300 Italian and international participants.
In this way, the work dedicated to Giulia becomes a point of reflection and awareness, a concrete way to bring a message of attention, prevention and awareness on the topic of gender violence to the streets of Turin.
