On my way home today I noticed a slightly drooping bouquet of flowers beside a sculpture by Mimmo Paladino near the Porta San Paolo and Piramide. The ribbon on the flowers said it was for the Roman Day of Memorial, January 27th, a day to remember the millions who died in the holocaust.
Approaching from the west the viewer encounters the "backs" of five steel silouettes. With hands chained and a target marked between the shoulders, the figures are facing a steel wall with a mirror of their image. As people pass by they can see their own reflections in these mirrors.
If you stand between the steel wall and the figures you can see colored triangles on the front of each figure. From left to right, the triangles are: Black - assigned to people who were deemed "asocial elements," including Roma (gypsies) and the mentally ill; Red - political prisoners; Double Yellow - a Star of David that marked Jews; Blue - foreign forced laborers; and Pink - homosexuals and other "sex offenders."
On a nearby wall a plaque dedicates this monument, not only to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, but also to all "potenziali bersagli - potential targets" of fascism and rascism.
The sculptor Mimmo Paladino was born in 1948. His sculptures for the Way of the Cross in the Church of Santo Volto di Gesù are posted on this blog.
just made me weep and weep..
ReplyDeleteVery powerful, very moving. Once again, thank you.
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