Artribune Podcast Revisits 1958 Vandalism of Raphael's Sposalizio

The latest episode of Storie dell'Arte, an artcrime podcast created by Mosè Previti for Artribune, recounts the 1958 attack on Raphael's Sposalizio della Vergine at the Pinacoteca di Brera. On June 15, 1958, a young man dressed in a gray suit and carrying a raincoat entered the museum, approached the painting, and used an awl and hammer to smash the glass and stab the panel. The perpetrator was Nunzio Guglielmo, also known as Van Guglielmi, described as a disturbed visionary and world traveler who had previously written an absurd novel. He was institutionalized, later released, and ultimately pardoned by an Italy divided between Christian Democratic conservatism and Communist orthodoxy. The vandalism shocked public opinion and art critics, sparking debate between condemnation and interpretations of protest or lucid despair. The podcast is based on archival sources, articles, court records, interviews, and direct testimonies, and features an original soundtrack synthesizing classical compositions and original pieces.