Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo (9 December 1974 – 31 March 2008), known as Pippa Bacca, was an Italian performance and feminist artist.
On 31 March 2008, Pippa Bacca disappeared in Gebze in Turkey during an international hitchhiking trip to promote world peace under the motto, "marriage between different peoples and nations".
[2][3][4] Pippa Bacca was born in Milan on 9 December 1974, as Giuseppina Valeria Laura Maria Pasqualino di Marineo.
Her mother, Elena Manzoni dei Conti di Chiosca e Poggiolo, likewise came from an affluent noble family of Sicilian origin.
As her uncle Piero Manzoni died before the birth of Bacca she never met him; but as her mother Elena safeguarded her brother's artistic legacy and preserved his art.
At a young age, her mother instilled a love of traveling in Bacca, and the family would explore Italy and Europe in an old van.
She had thoughts about pursuing a degree in mathematics,[11] but after her graduation instead of continuing her studies she decided to travel to Ireland[12] where she spent a year before returning to Italy to find work.
On her return, Bacca lived with her mother and sister Maria and found part time work in an interbank call center.
Baccas first solo exhibition took place in 1999 and was called Angeli: vita, morte e miracoli[7] (Angels: life,death and miracle) at the Slobs Gallery in Milan.
Hitchhiking was a great interest of Bacca, and she would travel both with her family and on her own in countries such as North America, Ireland, Spain, Russia[17] and Turkey.
Like the book, Bacca wanted to show "the exploits of humanity in the suburbs, of relationships, of secrets, of jokes, of chatter, of life in silence among the fog.
For the choir's performances, she would take on the persona of Eva Adamovich whose outfit included a black wig and a green ostrich boa.
The friend was concerned about getting her white gown dirty which made Bacca think about how strange it was that a piece of clothing that was used for just one special day could hold such importance.
The artists, wearing white wedding dresses, departed from Milan on 8 March 2008, travelled through the Balkans and arrived in Turkey twelve days later.
[4] Bacca's naked, strangled, and decomposing body was found in bushes near Gebze, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Istanbul.
[1][2] The man who led the police to her body, Murat Karataş,[3] was detained[2] and arrested after reportedly confessing to raping and strangling Bacca on 31 March after taking her in his Jeep from a gas station.
Bacca's alter ego Eva Adamovich got an obituary in the newspaper Corriere della Sera, where it was stated that she had "departed for a never-ending tour of the Bahamas".
[34] On the occasion of the 2009 Art Festival in Faenza, Istanbul Biennial director Fulya Erdemci made a public apology on behalf of her country.
The performance artist Carolina Bianchi processes her own sexual assault in her piece "Cadela Força" (Bitch Strength) by taking a knockout drug, and while still conscious, she talks about the femicide of Bacca.
[35] For her 2010 project "My Letter to Pippa",[36] Turkish documentary filmmaker Bingöl Elmas, dressed in black as a symbol of grief and traveled the same road as Bacca while documenting her own journey.
Ti sei vestita di bianco (You dressed in white) an exhibition at the MURATS (Museo unico regionale dell'arte tessile sarda) in Samugheo is a tribute to Bacca and "all women who undertake journeys of discovery and personal growth, inviting us to reflect on the universal values of love, hope and solidarity.
Bermdans in bruidsjurk (2020) (Roadside dance in wedding dress) by Sarah Venema is a non-fiction book exploring the events leading up to Baccas death.