Cart is empty
Lucio Ranucci
Lucio Ranucci was born in 1925 in Perledo (Como) but he spent his childhood and adolescence between Rome, Perouse and Milan. In 1943 he joined the ltalian army in North Africa, not to miss, what he felt at eighteen, as the essential experience ot his generation. Made prisoner in May 1943, he came back to ltaly in January 1945 as a member of the British Army. After two years spent in Milan as a journalist, in 1947 Ranucci moved to South America, first to Argentina, and began his career as a painter in 1949 when he had his tirst personal show in Lima, Peru.
What should have been a brief trip to South America lasted more than sixteen years. Apart tram several occasional jobs (among them merchant sailor, photographer and hearse driver) Ranucci occupied himself professionally with journalism and theatre, especially in Ecuador, Columbia and Costa Rica. In the latter country Ranucci lived tor aver ten years and directed, among other things the University Theatre and an evening newspaper, which allowed him to be one ot the tirst journalist to interview Fidel Castro and Che Guevara even before they entered Havana.
He also took part actively in political happenings in Central America, tor that reason he spent aver two months in jail in Managua in 1955, after the assassination of the first Somoza, in the same cellas Pedro Joaquin Chamonro and other 12 opponents.
Ranucci had never ceased, however, considering himself as a painter and prepared many personal exhibitions taking part at the same time in numerous and important collective shows, among which "La Bienal Panamerica de Mexico" in 1958 and "La Bienal de Sao Paulo" as Costa Rica 's representative. He also painted many mural works in Central America - among them a big panel at San José Costa Rica lnternational Airport - and a tew ot his works are in public and private collections on the American continent. Back in ltaly in 1963 Ranucci lived and worked in Rame tor quite some time. He then moved to the island ot Ischia where he had his studio tor some years, spending the winter in San Francisco, Calitomia, where an important Art Gallery sold a good deal ot his production.
After three years spent in Paris, Ranucci now lives and works in the back country of the Cote d'Azur, in Vence. Ranucci who has written three books ("Alguien camina sobre el sol" Ed. Pan, Lima Peru 1949 - "I colonnelli, Ed. Flaccovio, Palermo 1965 and "Il lungo Inganno" Ed. Savelli, Roma 1978) is still sporadically interested in journalism as during the fast period of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, where he had the opportunity ot going back to Managua, 24 years later, with the guerrillas of Eden Pastora.; but in the fast twenty years he has dedicated all his energy to painting, presenting numerous personal exhibitions in ltaly, France and the United States.
