A profound moment of reflection and planning centered on the image of Giusy and all women who are victims of violence. Tomorrow in Manfredonia (Foggia), a project to create a mural depicting the face of Giusy Potenza will be presented. The 14-year-old was murdered 21 years ago, on November 13, 2004. Her body, with its face disfigured, was found on a cliff on the outskirts of the town.
For that crime, her second cousin, Giovanni Potenza, was definitively sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is currently benefiting from a semi-liberty regime.
“This is a collective project,” emphasized lawyer Innocenza Starace, who conceived and promoted the initiative. She represented part of the young victim’s family during the trial and has been committed for years to protecting female victims of violence. “The face of young Giusy will be designed with input from those who wish to participate in the initiative. It will be unveiled on September 19th, at the start of the school year, on the walls of the magistral institute in Manfredonia, the same school the 14-year-old attended. I hope the entire city, and not just it, participates in this initiative conceived in memory of all women victims of absurd violence by men who, as happened to Giusy, often seek to erase the faces of their victims.”
Starace also thanked the artist, Raffaella Fariello, and the association La Fenice. She described the project as “an act of rebellion. We owe this not only to little Giusy, whose life, just about to blossom, was violently interrupted, but to all murdered women, to those who have survived violence, and to their families. We must do this to attempt to bring about change.” The artist will begin work on September 4th to complete the project by the September 19th deadline.