To celebrate World Mental Health Day, the international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma, we bring you the story of Giovanni Casale, who came up with the idea of transforming his ancestral town into an art therapy project for his son.
A handful of American and Neapolitan tourists stand on the dirt side of a road overlooking the valley below them. Giovanni, a flamboyant 57-year-old is in the middle of the road wearing a collapsible black top hat and a green military jacket. He’s about to begin the tour of his art village.
In-between the mumbling of the tourists, someone screams and jumps out of the way of something on the ground. Someone exclaims “Oh, it’s just a worm, relax.”
Giovanni lunges forward and gets on his hands and knees, and says: “No, no, no, don’t touch it!”