KÖRPER MAGAZINE
Fabio Fasiello
FABIO FASIELLO: Documentary Photographer I INSTAGRAM: @fabfas I CONTACT: fabio.fasiello@gmail.com
Armando Casamonica Portrait
Biography
Fabio Fasiello was born in Salento, Puglia, from a family of merchants in 1995. When he was a child he started to learn about the world of photography and fell in love with it. During his university years he moved to Rome to study Modern Languages and Literature at the University of Rome Tor Vergata where he graduated in 2019. During the pandemic period in Italy, he manages to catalyse his own kaleidoscopic world and presents his first story: Lock Down. In it he questions social introspection in a new and unexplored context. From here, Fabio shifts his attention to the human being and his everyday life which creates a new approach to his photography. In May 2020 he participates in the "Canon Giovani" competition with a short story, Relics, which shows the differences between the world before and after the closure of Italy. He then returns to Puglia, where he starts his first medium-term project, Origins, which tells of his childhood roots in southern Italy.
Armando Casamonica, the noble art of perseverance
The local gym “Quadraro Boxe” was born in the district of Quadraro, in the south suburb of the city of Rome. It is a district full of contradictions: both geographical and humans. It is the most extended and most densely populated of Rome: a city within a city. This huge number of citizens means to be lost in the district: in the streets, or in themselves, or also in the hundreds of public housings. “Quadraro Boxe” was born on the idea of get lost. It was founded in 2009 from the occupation of an abandoned garage. From that time the main goal of this gym is to redevelop the entire district, becoming a symbol. “Quadraro Boxe” means to provide opportunities for those who otherwise would have none.
The symbol within a symbol is, without doubt, Armando Casamonica. This surname is heavy, it resounds like an echo in the roman chronicles. But the surname is a heritage, something that it cannot be rejected: a burden that takes prejudices, isolation, anxiety. For Armando is a battle within the battle, trying to prove that he is not just a surname but a pro boxer. When somebody starts to become a pro boxer, dedication and perseverance goes to take part of yourself. The goal is to fight till the last gong of the match, resist till the last second of a training, stay focused till the last moment of the day. For Armando there is a burden within a burden. Armando takes with him, in every second of his life, all the dichotomies, all the contrasts, all the prejudices. He gets in the ring all of this and he tries to demonstrate in every match, in every training, that he’s not just a surname. He persists till the last gong of the match, till the last minute of the training, till the last street of Quadraro.
At the entrance to Quadraro Boxing, this sheet of newspaper stands out like an effigy to attest to the real task the gym has set itself: refurbishment. Next to it is a series of photos attesting to the various victories of Armando Casamonica and other boxers. Headline: "Armando, prejudices fall".
Armando Casamonica photographed with his grandmother, for him one of the most important points of reference in his family.
FULL GALLERY
To learn more ¿?
What does the surname Casamonica mean?
"The Casamonica were one of the most famous and dangerous mafias in Rome. A criminal clan of gypsy ethnicity dedicated to the sale of drugs and usury through threats and ostentatious luxury. In 2018 they were estimated to have around 1,000 affiliated members and a wealth of around 100 million euros.
Despite the fact that Armando has NEVER BELONGED TO THIS CLAN, NOR HAS HE EVER BEEN RELATED TO THEM, it is a surname that is a constant burden and continuous prejudice towards his person. A daily battle both in and out of the ring.