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Vittorio Gorini (1916-2007): Messages and Impossible Machines

“I'll make a little reflection on these little videos of the house, because every man, every person, has his own little story.”

A self-taught philosopher, eclectic inventor, and freethinker, Vittorio Gorini was a significant figure in the city of Perugia. His inventions, maxims, and cheerfulness influenced several generations of Umbrians over nearly four decades, until the 1990s. Whether it's the image of his motorized bed he used to zip around the historic center, or his witty—albeit cryptic—maxims against the "matter" of human beings, most Perugians have some memory of Vittorio.

As he recounts in his video autobiography, Vittorio Gorini received many "messages of wisdom" throughout his life, which reached him in his sleep. Each time, Vittorio would wake up, write them down, and go back to sleep. He collected 101, all focused on the same theme: how to live well. Thus was born "il gorino": from the need to pass on what he had received and convince his fellow citizens to direct their lives toward a more humane way of life. From this need grew the many initiatives Vittorio implemented to make his messages effective and heard by his fellow citizens: from walking around the city with signs bearing various messages, to disguises, to impossible machines.
In 1988, after nearly two decades of activity as the "village lunatic," Vittorio purchased a used video camera and began recording himself in his kitchen, explaining one of the 101 messages each evening.

Today, a vast documentary heritage remains of that incredible work, consisting of 101 video cassettes he shot himself in the late 1980s, audio tapes, photographs of his exploits, and several of his inventions—although many of these were lost following his eviction from the apartment at Via dell'Oro 2, occupied by Gorino since 1923 (as recounted in the documentary "The Free Thinker"). In 1988, after nearly two decades of activity as the "village madman," Vittorio purchased a used video camera and began recording himself in his kitchen, explaining one of the 101 messages each evening.

Beyond the impossible objects and machines, the Gorini Collection includes two original containers (each weighing approximately 35 kg), each containing the 101 three-hour VHS video cassettes that Vittorio used in 1988, now seventy-two years old, to recount his life and philosophy on video over as many evenings in his historic home at Via dell'Oro 2. In 1988, after nearly two decades of working as the "village madman," Vittorio purchased a used video camera and began recording himself in his kitchen, explaining one of the 101 messages each evening.

“Imagine walking and stumbling, purely by chance, upon a time capsule. One of those containers that, until a few decades ago, it was all the rage to fill with objects, photographs, drawings, and anything else that could convey a testimony of times gone by to future generations. This is what happened to me (although certainly on a smaller scale) when I came into contact with the exceptional figure that was Vittorio Gorini.” (Angelo Fanelli)

Download the story
To complement the messages, Vittorio built over the years a series of impossible machines, in order to combine "business with pleasure" by (literally) conveying the messages:

The motorized car-bed: a historical symbol imprinted in the memory of the people of Perugia, Gorini's self-bed is made up of a wrought iron structure from the early 1900s modified to accommodate a 50cc internal combustion engine with wheels, brakes, and steering.
• The motorized car-toiletRestored by the Association in 2010 and consisting of a wooden platform with four wheels on which a toilet is placed as a seat and a 1950 50cc Minarelli engine, the self-toilet has been used by the Association in various events, exhibitions and shows.
• The indicator
• The scooter with umbrella
• The cyclo-alternators: Created by the Association in 2011 in collaboration with the ITIS of Piscille, they constitute a "Gorinian hymn to sustainability", and were used inside the Rocca Paolina for the 2011 Gorini Exhibition, allowing the generation of the electricity needed to power the lighting of some works, and the activation of some videos.
• Numerous other small objects and various documents are part of the collection available to the Association, including vintage bicycles and scooters, official documents, etc.

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Photographic Archive

The Association's Gorini Collection also contains a vast archive of original period photographs, hundreds of which are still housed in the original glass and wood display cases built by Vittorio Gorini and used in 2011 in the exhibition at the Rocca Paolina, "Solo Su Gorini: Ecological Performance of European Cultural Archaeology." The photographic archive provides an original and interesting insight into the city's history from the 1940s to the end of the last century, as well as a series of visual documents on the themes of creativity, ecology, resourcefulness, and social interactions in the streets of the historic center from the 1940s to the end of the century. Below are some examples of the available photos:
Download the updated bibliography and discography on Gorini
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