Raffaele Palma is one of the most eclectic Italian satirical artists, and humorists. The holder of the Premio Satira Politica Forte dei Marmi a prize for Political Satire in the sculpture section of a national competition held in Tuscany, he has also organised numerous exhibitions himself in Italy, in various institutional contexts. He's also the author of various works on humor, several of which have been published by the press of Marco Valerio Edizioni of Torino.
Biographical notes
Raffaele Palma is an author with a solid artistic formation, having graduated at Turin's Fine Arts Institute, Accademia di Belle Arti di Torino, where he studied the works of several outstanding painters. As well as having published numerous works, he has curated many exhibitions and shows, which have contributed in Italy to the development of new innovations in the field of humor in the visual arts. Raffaele Palma is also an eclectic educator, and in 1984, together with Giorgio Cavallo, another Italian social satirist, he founded in Turin the CAUS – Centro Arti Umoristiche e Satiriche, Centre of Humorous and Satirical Arts.
Institutional and social commitments
Raffaele Palma was one of the first people in Italy to develop national interest in the themes of Comedy and Humor as sources of wellbeing and health, as well as means of resolving psychological and social conflicts, especially in the context of public institutions. In April 1989 he organised the important Workshop Sorriso e Salute under the patronage of the Ordine Nazionale dei Medici and the Ordine Nazionale dei Farmacisti, the Italian Registers of Doctors and Pharmacists, at Turin's Centro Incontro. On the same theme, he also organised seminars on "Laughter as Therapy" at Turin Medical School's Institute of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapy, Facoltà di Medicina di Torino, Istituto di Farmacologia e Terapie Sperimentali. He's also taught Humor and Satire for degree courses at Turin University Education Faculty, Facoltà di Magistero di Torino, and has been a consultant on humor for the City of TurinEducation Department, Assessorato all'Istruzione, Comune di Torino, where he organised courses to update teachers during the 1980s and 1990s.
Another of his interesting fields of enquiry, unfortunately neglected by the media, is his reawakening of interest in Calligraphy in many workshops, meetings and exhibitions he has organised to explore the design, of alphabets, initials, numbers and trade marks with links to the local area. At present, he runs courses in Calligraphy in Turin schools of every type and level, as well as organising a calligraphic workshop: L'Arte degli Amanuensi, The Scribe’s Art, at Unitre – Università della Terza Età a Turin further education institute for the elderly. Several of his books on humor have been published in Italy by Marco Valerio Edizioni.
Chronology of works
Senza Parole
In soprannome del Popolo Italiano
La pianta del riso – Guida alla didattica dell'humour
L'albero della cova – Humour e habitat
Torino arguta – Guida alla città ed ai musei di Torino
Sul martirio e sulle pene
Autoironia
Dio sorride. Compatiamolo! – 500 aforismi, massime, proverbi, epitaffi, apoftegmi
W.C. – 100 aforismi lascivi e massime liscive
Sindone le due tracce
Sindonibus – Grafiche e aforismi attorno alla Sindone
