Interview with Giancolombo            

The Case of Rina Fort

One of the first reportage that left a mark on his career was the case of Caterina Fort, a girl from Friuli known as Rina.

"She had an affair with a man, a Sicilian called Pippo Ricciardi.

Too bad, Ricciardi was married and she didn't know it". She knew nothing about the children, as well. They were three and all toddlers, besides an on-coming baby. When she found out it, she went literally mad, becoming a beast thirsting for death - so told the newspapers. She went to the lover’s home while he was absent and killed his wife and all the children beating them with a stick.

Giancolombo was at the beginning of his career and crime news, as well as gossip columns, was commonplace for him.

"The imperative of the moment was to arrive on the crime scene before the others. And of course to elude any ban that could limit opportunity to take photos. Our job was often incredible, developing the taste for challenge, and full of latent

legends and myths that photographers liked to foment ".

He hid the camera in his pocket and stood on the site of the crime as he were there by chance. He did enter. Once inside he was so strange and shabby that policemen thought he was part of their number, someone sent by forensic lab to take photos of the crime. So much so, that everyone got a lot of trouble to help him, since he looked so inexperienced.

 

 

 

"The photographs of the massacre were published on the front page by Corriere Lombardo of December 1, 1946. Forensic lab didn’t like the hoax, and wasted just a moment before seizing the negatives".

But the thing was done by then, and Giancolombo had achieved one of his first and most famous covers.

 

           

 

The Big Hit of Bellentani