The exhibition, curated by Elda Torres, presents "Roma Denied," a body of work composed of numerous images created by photographer, photojournalist, and storyteller Rino Bianchi.
The exhibition is hosted by StudioDieci in Vercelli, directed by Diego Pasqualin, Carla Crosio, and Matteo Lombardi, an experimental and independent space since 1971, far from commercial circuits and attentive to the latest artistic research.
Roma Denied presents images of people, architecture, and remnants of the colonial period under Fascism; the African Quarter and the name of the Piazza dei Cinquecento are direct evidence of this. Traces present in the city's structure, yet often forgotten, of which the new generations know nothing or almost nothing.
The cover image, taken on the Ponte del Duca di Aosta, features a female figure in in a mix of Western clothing and a traditional headdress, the portrait of a Somali woman leaning against the wall of the monument, where phrases of fascist rhetoric stand out.
The author focuses on human figures, their faces, but also on their customs, social, and cultural milieu. A mixed-race and multiethnic Rome emerges, a persistent feature of the city since antiquity, with periods of latency at certain stages of its history.
The work "Roma Denied" was later published in a volume: "Roma Denied. Postcolonial Paths in the City," by Igiaba Scego and Rino Bianchi, Ediesse 2014, Futura ed. 2023. Many images have been included in other volumes, such as: "Architecture in Asmara. Colonial Origin and Postcolonial Experiences," edited by Peter Volgger and Stefan Graf, Dom Publishers 2017; "Curating Fascism," edited by Sharon Hecker and Raffaele Bedarida, Bloomsbury Publishing, New York; "AfrichE. Postcolonial Tra(n)s-formations," edited by Daniela Scotto di Fasano, Cristiano Rocchi, and Livio Boni, Armando Editore 2024; What Remains of Colonial Consciousness: Urban Memory and Citizen Resistance, edited by Giorgia Gamba, Padova University Press 2024.
Rino Bianchi is the author of many other publications and numerous book covers, including Sukran Moral. Apocalypse, Simonetta Lux, Patrizia Mania, Gangemi 2005; Plutarch. All the Moralia. First Complete Italian Translation, edited by Emanuele Lelli and Giuliano Pisani, Bompiani 2017; Greek Epitaphs. The Hellenic Spoon River of W. Peek, edited by Emanuele Lelli, Bompiani 2019. He also collaborates with Italian and international publications.
The exhibition October 4 | 26 -2025