What’s this site about?

Liberopensatore.it is about the figure and memory of Vittorio Gorini (or “Il Gorino” 1912, 2006), a “free-thinker” (libero pensatore) who lived in Perugia for most of his life and left me 101 videotapes where he recounts his philosophy, life stories, popular wisdom, etc. If you are new to Perugia, you should know that these types of people, unconventional to say the least, have been (and to a certain extent still are) a feature of our Italian towns — you may find it helpful to explore this feature of Perugia and of Italian culture, which remains relatively hidden to the turist.

The figure and thought of Vittorio Gorini, rooted in tradition, in local culture, and in an ancient, earthly, worldview, represents in many respects an antidote to the malaise of the current society. With his infallble acumen, Vittorio Gorini (or “il Gorino”, as he has been known for his entire life in the city of Perugia) exposes, analyses, and criticizes many of the illnesses of the contemporary world, bringing us into the embrace of Umbrian folk intelligence with all its iconoclastic irony, its enlightening humour, and its gentle mockery of any form of received opinion.

Who was Il Gorino?

A self-taught inventor and thinker, Vittorio Gorini’s life story has been full of events, participating in the evolution of the costumes with an irreverent eye and a keen ability for pointing out society’s ill-established prides as well as for restlessly taking aim at his own defects and limitations and developing from there, so as to be able to ultimately transform them into virtues.

Vittorio Gorini was a master of the italian “arte di arrangiarsi”, the art of making do with whatever is available, of repairing instead of throwing away, of recycling, re-using, and reshaping objects as well as ideas, habits, and misadventures so to be able to turn them into something useful, refreshing, and re-vivifying. He was also, in a period of his life, a small thief, who spent 8 and a half years in jail “per meno di ventimila lire di danno” (for a damage of less than 20 thousand liras).

Vittorio Gorini’s life gave expression to a time and to a people — and through his memories we can bring a good part of this treasure to bear onto today’s agitated, confused, disrupted society.

How is this site financed?

In terms of contents of the site, the major element is represented by extracts of Gorini’s videotapes, followed by video interviews with people who knew him, pictures, and documentary materials. In order to finance this initiative, the site also allows the online purchase (in connection with Pretty Art, an online and brick-and-mortar shop specialized in personalized ty-shirts) of t-shirts, ceramics, and other types od gadgets related to Vittorio Gorini. The entire revenue of the sales are re-invested in the further development of the site.

Have a look around, familiarize with il Gorino. I am sure you will have lots of fun.

I am open to any suggestions to make the site easy to navigate and stimulating for people to interact and contribute.

Ciao