Italian Spiritualism Part 1: Famous Spiritualists

In the late 1800s Spiritualism and Spiritism became extremely popular in Europe. In Italy, especially among the educated upper classes, Spiritualism was treated with a highly scientific and philosophical view. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes and devoted Spiritualist) actually took note that the most scientific minded Spiritualists came from Italy: 

Italy has, in some ways, been superior to all other European states in its treatment of Spiritualism—and this in spite of the constant opposition of the Roman Catholic Church... Italy has been very rich in mediums, but she has been even more fortunate in having men of science who were wise enough to follow facts wherever they might lead. 

Although Doyle is correct that Scientific Spiritualism was popular with the educated elite, it was actually Spiritism that was the most widely practiced tradition of Spiritualism in Italy. 

Spiritism is a Spiritualist tradition that is based on the writings of Allan Kardec, which places emphasis on education, spiritual development, and the virtue of charity.  Florence became a center of Spiritism, and published books, articles, and newspapers that helped spread the message and practices of Spiritism across the peninsula even as far as Sicily. 

In the 1871 Year Book of Spiritualism an anonymous Sicilian Woman was interviewed who stated that in 1865 a Spiritist Society was started "according to the instructions contained in the works of Allan Kardec," that although the Sicilian clergy were extremely hostile to this group, the individuals "scorning the threats of the priests, courageously followed its investigation" 

Eusapia Palladino 

Eusapia Palladino is probably the most famous (or infamous) Italian Medium in the history of Spiritualism. Eusapia was a bit of a shock to most English speaking Victorian Spiritualists of the time. She was supposedly incredibly blunt, had a very hot temper, and spoke in a 'low class' Neapolitan dialect, rather than the Tuscan Italian of the upper classes. 

Eusapia was born in one of the poorest areas of Italy and raised as an orphan in Naples. She started to show psychic and mediumistic abilities at an early age, and eventually rose to become one of the most popular physical mediums of her time. What caused much of her infamy, however, was how blatantly little she cared about being caught in practicing fraudulent mediumship. 

Simply shrugging off that people expected her to produce phenomena and that she gave it to them. Yet, what is interesting to note, that as many times as she was caught in fraud, she also seemed to have demonstrated genuine abilities as a Psychic and Medium, leaving researchers puzzled when they were unable to explain several phenomena that produced. 

Ernesto Bozzano 

To quote Sir Arthur's History of Spiritualism, "Ernesto Bozzano, who was born in Genoa in 1862, has devoted thirty years to psychical research, embodying his conclusions in thirty long monographs" He also participated in several of the experimental seances involving Eusapia Palladino. 

Controversially for his time, Bozzano also conducted studies regarding the phenomena of mediumship and psychic abilities occurring with animals, demonstrating that not only were animals able to participate in this phenomena, but actually concluded that they share in an afterlife as well as human beings. 

Girolamo Parisi 

Girolamo Parisi is fairly obscure these days as a Spiritualist figure, but he is a favorite of mine. He was described by the famous American Spiritualist James M. Peebles as "a truly kind and generous man." Parisi published a Spiritist Newspaper in Florence known as Aurora, and promoted the teachings of Allan Kardec among Italians. 

He wrote two short essays "To The Spiritualists of England and America" which offered his opinion that Spiritualism in these countries would greatly be benefited by the study of Spiritist Philosophy, and that the teachings of Spiritism would strengthen the good points of American and British Spiritualism and also make up for some of the deficiencies he felt were present in the practices of Spiritualists in English speaking countries.