MAXIPROCESSO
An exhibition by Maria D. Rapicavoli with the staging of Supervoid and with the screening of the documentary “Il Maxiprocesso (1986–2026)” directed by Pasquale Scimeca
From 4 October to 26 November, MAXIPROCESSO, the travelling installation by Maria D. Rapicavoli, curated by Laura Barreca and Giovanna Fiume, arrives at the Museo Civico di Castelbuono. The project continues its journey across Italy following its first prestigious institutional presentation at the Palermo Courthouse, where it was inaugurated last June thanks to the collaboration of Antonio Balsamo, President of the Court of Appeal of Palermo, and Alessandra Camassa, President of the Court of Trapani, who supported and promoted the project.
The exhibition features thirty photographs by artist Maria D. Rapicavoli (Catania, 1976), offering a powerful and unprecedented perspective on the files and judicial records of the Maxiprocesso, presented in an exhibition design by the architecture studio Supervoid, marking the fortieth anniversary of the trial (1986–2026).
The photographs’ monumental and documentary quality reveals the immense work behind the vast body of evidence: the interrogation transcripts of justice collaborators, wiretapped conversations, and documentation relating to the activities of Cosa Nostra, gathered during the preliminary investigation conducted by the Anti-Mafia Pool coordinated by Giovanni Falcone.
The exhibition also includes the documentary Il Maxiprocesso (1986–2026), directed by Pasquale Scimeca and produced to mark the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the celebrated Palermo Maxiprocesso on 10 February 1986. Drawing on historical archival footage, the documentary reconstructs some of the most significant moments of the largest trial to recognise the Mafia as an organised system.
MAXIPROCESSO is produced by the Museo Civico di Castelbuono and supported by Strategia Fotografia 2025, promoted by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture, with the support of nctm e l’arte, an ADVANT Nctm project. The project is endorsed by the Court of Appeal of Palermo, the Court of Trapani, and the National Association of Magistrates – Palermo District Section, and developed in collaboration with the University of Palermo (DEMS).
On 21 September 2026, the project received the 31st International Award for Social Commitment – Rosario Livatino, Antonino Saetta and Gaetano Costa Memorial Award 2026. As part of the ceremony, Laura Barreca, Giovanna Fiume and Maria D. Rapicavoli were honoured at the Court of Caltanissetta.
The photographic installation will be on view in the Ex Stables of the Museo Civico di Castelbuono until 26 November, before travelling to Rome, Trapani and Milan. The Museum is committed to ensuring that the work will “never be placed in storage”, just as memory cannot be put away.
The work has entered the permanent contemporary art collection of the Museo Civico di Castelbuono.
