Publishing date: 16 October 2026 Immagine notizia Immagine Paragrafo Looking at prison through the eyes of those who experience it, questioning the meaning of punishment and the concrete possibilities for rehabilitation, reflecting on the vulnerability of people in detention and on the role of institutions and civil society. These are the main themes of the conference “Rehabilitation in the Italian Prison System: Between Scarce Resources, Social Stigma and the Risk of Secondary Victimisation. Como Prison Through the Eyes of Those Who Live There”, taking place on Monday, 19 October, in Como, from 10 am to 4 pm in the Aula Magna of Sant’Abbondio Cloister. The event is organised by the Department of Law, Economics and Cultures of the University of Insubria.The initiative will bring together lecturers, researchers, representatives of the prison administration, legal professionals and third-sector organisations to explore the relationship between the constitutional principle that punishment should aim to rehabilitate offenders and the difficulties of putting this principle into practice, amid limited resources, overcrowding, social stigma and situations of particular vulnerability.The conference will also provide an opportunity to open a photographic exhibition running from 19 October to 19 November at Sant’Abbondio Cloister. The exhibition will bring together photographic works and personal testimonies produced as part of two projects involving people detained at Como Prison: “Reflected Bodies” («Corpi riflessi») and “Bassone: What Kind of Humanity?” («Bassone: quale umanità?»).The day will begin at 10 am with institutional greetings by Giuseppe Colangelo, Director of the Department of Law, Economics and Cultures at the University of Insubria. This will be followed by an introduction to the conference and exhibition by Giulia Barone, a researcher in Criminal Procedure Law at the University. The first session, scheduled from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm, will focus on “The Rehabilitative Purpose of Punishment Between Utopia and Reality” and will be chaired by Stefano Marcolini, Full Professor of Criminal Procedure Law at the University of Insubria. Immagine Speakers will include Thomas Di Candia, a lawyer registered with the Busto Arsizio Bar Association and a PhD graduate of the University of Insubria, who will examine the implementation of the rehabilitative principle in prison legislation; Martino Villani, from CSV Insubria; and Maria Trimarchi, Head of the Como District Office for External Criminal Enforcement, who will discuss the relationship between limited resources and rehabilitation programmes. The discussion will continue with Beppe Nessi and Zef Karaci, from Caritas Como, who will reflect on life inside Bassone Prison, and Francesco Picozzi, from the Legislative Office of the Ministry of Justice, who will address prison overcrowding.From 1.30 pm to 3 pm, the second session will focus on “Human Trafficking, Gender Identity and Detention: Vulnerability, Protection and Prison Treatment”, chaired by Chiara Perini, Full Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Insubria. Sara Bianca Taverriti, a researcher in Criminal Law at Insubria, and Tiziana Bianchini, from the Cooperativa Lotta contro l’Emarginazione, will examine the dual status of people who have committed offences and are also victims of human trafficking, addressing protection needs, non-punishability and the risk of secondary victimisation. Laura Castegnaro, from the Cooperativa Lotta contro l’Emarginazione, and Carmela Rusciano, a prison officer and cultural mediator, will present the project “Reflected Bodies” («Corpi riflessi»), which focuses on the specific circumstances of transgender women in detention. Sofia Ciuffoletti, a researcher at the University of Florence, will explore the relationship between rehabilitative treatment and gender issues.From 3 pm to 4 pm, the programme will conclude with a round-table discussion entitled “The Rehabilitation of Offenders: A Symphony Between Institutions and Civil Society”, coordinated by Gilda Ripamonti, a researcher in Criminal Law at the University of Insubria and Como’s Prisoners’ Rights Ombudsperson. Participants will include Benedetta Rossi, a supervisory judge at the Varese Office; Rossella Padula, from the Lombardy Regional Directorate of the Prison Administration; Roberta Galati, Director of Como Prison; Maria Manzella, head of the prison’s security staff; and Fra Ferdinando Genetti, the prison chaplain. The aim is to bring together different experiences and responsibilities and reflect on how to develop rehabilitation programmes that involve not only the prison administration but also public institutions and local community organisations.Alongside the conference, from 19 October to 19 November 2026, Sant’Abbondio Cloister will host an exhibition bringing together two artistic and photographic projects developed with the participation of people detained at Como Prison.The first exhibition, “Reflected Bodies” («Corpi riflessi»), features photographic works created by transgender women in detention as part of an art workshop exploring body awareness, coordinated by the Cooperativa Lotta contro l’Emarginazione. The project aims to prevent the secondary victimisation of women who have been victims of human trafficking and to provide a space for self-expression and reflection on identity. Through images and words, the works form a collective narrative intertwining the experience of detention, the relationship with one's own body and the desire to reclaim one's identity and rights.“Bassone: What Kind of Humanity?” («Bassone: quale umanità?») is an exhibition comprising 24 panels produced in spring 2024 by Caritas Como, in collaboration with the «Settimanale della Diocesi», Cometa's carpentry school and a historic graphic design studio in Como. The exhibition was created as a contribution to reflection for the 2025 Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope”. Some of the images come from the photographic exhibition produced approximately twelve years ago as part of the “Click, Let Me Tell You” («Click ti racconto») project, which was designed to show the families of detained people what everyday life inside Bassone Prison was like. These are complemented by more recent photographs, offering further insights into the lives and experiences of those who live and work within Como's prison.Bringing the two exhibitions together in a single visitor experience, the displays invite the public to look at prison from a different perspective, through images and testimonies that place people, their stories and their dignity at the centre.The exhibition will be open Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 6.30 pm, at Sant’Abbondio Cloister, 12 Via Sant’Abbondio, Como.The conference's scientific coordination is entrusted to Giulia Barone, Stefano Marcolini and Gilda Ripamonti of the University of Insubria. The joint exhibition is curated by Laura Castegnaro and Beppe Nessi. The conference has been accredited by the Como Bar Association and entitles participating lawyers to six continuing professional development credits in the ordinary training category.For further information: giulia.barone@uninsubria.it(Two photographs from the exhibition)