DR. FABIO ROIA, PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF MILAN, TO OPEN THE EVENT
Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
On 20 October at the Centro Internazionale di Brera, a project conceived by Calí Velela, a graduate in Clinical Psychology, communicator in the fields of psychology and literature, and author, together with writer and journalist Milena Renzi. The initiative is under the patronage of the Centro Internazionale di Brera and the Municipality of San Giovanni in Marignano. Elena Lattuada, the Mayor of Milan’s Delegate for Gender Equal Opportunities, will attend. San Giovanni in Marignano will be represented by Municipal Councillor Samuele Cinquilli, Delegate for Youth Policies. The event will be moderated by Dr. Maria Teresa Infante La Marca. Words of appreciation and gratitude have been expressed by the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation.
MILAN – From Rimini to the cultural heart of Milan to give a name to a form of violence that often leaves no visible marks, yet can slowly take away identity, freedom and self-determination.
On Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at 6:00 p.m., the Centro Internazionale di Brera – Antica Libreria di Brera, in Milan, will host the cultural and educational event:
“THE VIOLENCE THAT LEAVES NO BRUISES – Recognising psychological manipulation, understanding the harm, reclaiming one’s voice”.
The event is non-profit and open to the public free of charge.
The project grew out of the meeting between Calí Velela, a graduate in Clinical Psychology, communicator in the fields of psychology and literature, and author, and Dr. h.c. Milena Renzi, writer, journalist and international cultural communicator: two different professional and human journeys that found common ground in the desire to transform reflection on violence into words, knowledge and the possibility of rebuilding.
The event will be opened by Dr. Fabio Roia, President of the Court of Milan, a magistrate who has long been engaged in issues related to gender-based violence.
Elena Lattuada, the Mayor of Milan’s Delegate for Gender Equal Opportunities, will also attend, representing the Municipality of Milan institutionally.
The Municipality of San Giovanni in Marignano, which has granted its patronage to the initiative, will be represented in Brera by Municipal Councillor Samuele Cinquilli, Delegate for Youth Policies.
The event will be moderated by Dr. Maria Teresa Infante La Marca, writer and poet, creator of the “Ciò che Caino non sa” award, dedicated to raising awareness of gender-based violence and abuse through culture and the arts.
The initiative, also under the patronage of the Centro Internazionale di Brera, was strongly supported and promoted by Dr. Stefano Carluccio, President of the Centro Internazionale di Brera, who welcomed the project into this prestigious Milanese cultural venue.
The path proposed by Velela and Renzi addresses psychological violence in its often invisible progression: from trust to imbalance, from manipulation to confusion, from isolation to fear, through to the gradual loss of the ability to make one’s own decisions.
Yet the heart of the event will not be violence itself: it will be the possibility of recognising it, naming it and rebuilding one’s identity.
A project that therefore chooses not to sensationalise pain, but to restore centrality to the person and to human dignity.
The Giulia Cecchettin Foundation, on behalf of its President Gino Cecchettin, has also expressed words of appreciation and gratitude for the project and for the commitment devoted to awareness-raising, prevention and education against violence.
“We sincerely thank you for your valuable commitment through your project and for your wish to share it with us. […] It is also thanks to you that the Giulia Cecchettin Foundation can continue its work of awareness-raising, prevention and education.”
Giulia Cecchettin Foundation
The Brera dialogue will bring together psychology, literature, testimony, culture and art, involving figures from different professional backgrounds.
Among the cultural participants are Dr. Arch. Rodolfo Vettorello and Dr. Arch. Giovanni Ronzoni, who have been put forward for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Emma Renzi, a young poet and writer, recipient of the Young Talents Award for poetry, will bring the perspective of the younger generations to Brera.
The artistic component will be entrusted to Maestro Angelo Bonazzoli, a sopranist specialising in the Baroque repertoire, and to the young pianist Mateus Gardellini, trained at the “Gioachino Rossini” Conservatory in Pesaro and already featured in concerts, lecture-concerts and events dedicated to young talent.
Literary works will be an integral part of the journey: for Calí Velela, Ho ballato con il diavolo and La Rishika – colei che vede dove nessuno guarda; for Milena Renzi, Elisa Gortani – Storie di monti e di delitti dall’Inquisizione ai Cosacchi, produced with the historical contribution of Igino Dorissa.
This will therefore not be a traditional conference, but an encounter in which different areas of expertise will engage with an essential question:
what happens when a person gradually stops recognising their own life as truly theirs?
And, above all: how does one begin again?
The symbolic answer chosen by the two creators lies in reclaiming one’s name and one’s voice:
“I am Calí.” “I am Milena.”
Because recognising oneself again as a person, before even recognising oneself as a victim, means taking the first step towards freedom.
The programme is still being finalised, and further important confirmations and collaborations are expected.
THE VIOLENCE THAT LEAVES NO BRUISES
Recognising psychological manipulation, understanding the harm, reclaiming one’s voice
Tuesday, 20 October 2026 – 6:00 p.m.
Centro Internazionale di Brera – Antica Libreria di Brera, Milan
Under the patronage of the Centro Internazionale di Brera and the Municipality of San Giovanni in Marignano
Concept and project: Calí Velela – graduate in Clinical Psychology, communicator in the fields of psychology and literature, author | Dr. h.c. Milena Renzi – Writer, journalist and international cultural communicator
Non-profit event, open to the public free of charge
Moderator: Dr. Maria Teresa Infante La Marca
