Gustavo Rol

thumb|Gustavo Adolfo Rol (1924) Gustavo Adolfo Rol (20 June 1903 - 22 September 1994) was an Italian parapsychologist, medium, and painter. His devotees consider him to have been a great spiritual master and have testified to miraculous feats he supposedly accomplished. Quotes Since I couldn't give him a definition of light that he was happy with, Einstein told me that light is the shadow of God, because everything that is matter casts a dark shadow, whereas when God materialises, He becomes Light, as He is  Spirit. Quoted in Vera Schiavazzi, Le memorie di un veggente, la Repubblica, 24 September 1994. When the Spirit and Love mutually materialise, they both become  immortal. Quoted in Maria Luisa Giordano, Rol e l'altra dimensione, Sonzogno, Milano 2010, p. 239 This wish is a bit unusual, but I think it is worth making. My wish for these dear young people lies in the proposal I am making to them. Never before have people of all faiths and all races come together, inspired by the desire for universal peace, as they are at this moment; but I say to you, dear young people, support this movement, and, what is more, give it immense strength by providing it with a means of irresistible power: march in procession and loudly demand that the two supermen of state, using their authority, propose the creation of the ‘United States of the World’, a guarantee for their peoples and for all the peoples of the Earth. And this is the greatest means of defence that human beings can offer one another. No one has ever called for such a thing before. You young people, do it – do it at last. All ways of life linked to different races and their origins, and all philosophies with an ethical foundation, will be able to coexist and work together peacefully. Such coexistence will enable humankind to be supported in its rights and aspirations. No longer armies armed with missiles, but teams of technicians equipped with research tools. In a world of united states, it becomes natural to share the goods and resources that nature provides in abundance. We will no longer talk about a First, Second or Third World; there will be no more financial problems, like the ones being discussed in Brussels right now, no more unemployment or poverty – instead, there will be work for everyone. From a radio interview released to Raffaella Carrà at the TV programme Domenica in, 11 January 1987. Quotes about Gustavo Rol, the epitome of everything: I met him when he was over seventy, but he was still handsome, witty and able to achieve incredible things with the greatest of ease. He was the subject of unkind remarks by Piero Angela, who, on the other hand, had a first-hand experience with him – an experience that cannot be denied – concerning the remote reading of books. I myself experienced an astonishing phenomenon with Rol. Paola Giovetti, from an interview by Francesco Palmieri, Un viaggio di quarant'anni fra i misteri, ilfoglio.it, 20 November 2021. By far the most interesting figure, standing completely apart from this gallery of more or less pathological phenomena, the most extraordinary figure is Dr Gustavo Rol, from Turin. I'm sure you've already heard of him too. He is not a 'magician' who is more gifted than the others. He is a very civilised gentleman, cultured and spiritually refined, who went to university, paints, and has spent years working in the antiques trade. However, he possesses such powers that it is hard to understand why he is not famous all over the world. Who knows, perhaps his time has not yet come. [...] What Rol can do is frightening. Those who witness it feel as if they are sinking into a deep sea without a diving suit. It is a fascinating and provocative testimony of transcendence. The only reason you don't end up terrified is because of his jovial, playful manner, a bit like Fra Ginepro, and the wholesome atmosphere he exudes. After all, before his experiments, he himself tries, by giving appropriate warnings, to put a limit on the wonder, otherwise people might be overwhelmed by it. Federico Fellini, quoted in Dino Buzzanti, I misteri d'Italia, Mondadori, 2014. ISBN 8852051341. The most bewildering man I have ever met. His potential is so vast that it even surpasses people's ability to be amazed by it. Federico Fellini, quoted in Alberto Bevilacqua, Nessuna meraviglia: semplicemente Rol, Corriere della Sera, 12 March 2000, p. 34. (Referring to Gianni Agnelli) He would always say to me: 'Romiti, don't go there!' He had been terrified of him ever since he had heard Rol advise a mutual friend in Venice not to take the plane to Rome. That plane crashed, and his friend died. Cesare Romiti, quoted in Aldo Cazzullo, Gustavo Rol spariva (e ricompariva): l'ultimo mago amato e temuto dai potenti (Agnelli ne era terrorizzato), corriere.it, 30 May 2021. I remember it was 1976, and I was in Turin recording a Saturday-night Sim Sala Bim! special with Isabella Biagini. It was the height of Rol's popularity; there was talk of him in the newspapers, and I tried to get in touch with him. Especially because he performed tricks that were very similar to mine. And I say 'tricks' because, for me, they aren't experiments – he passed them off as such: he claimed to be an open window onto the universe, the voice of God, 'I'm a gutter', he would say... [...] I got his phone number from the 'little princess' d'Alba, a friend of mine at the time. One evening, she invited me to a small party, an evening with Rol. And when he found out that I was going to be there […], he said, 'No, no, no, no, I don't want Silvan.' He's brilliant, I've seen him on TV, but I don't want him to be there.” And bear in mind one other thing: on the phone, he kept me on the line. I must have spoken to him for, I'm not exaggerating, maybe seven or eight hours, over several calls, over the course of twenty to twenty-five days. And he would talk, in that slightly Fellinian voice, that voice that sounded a bit like this. I said, "Maestro, I would like to meet you because I've been told about some things you do [...] that I can replicate; I can do exactly the same thing, using make-up, of course. So, I'd like to meet you to see for myself.” Nothing doing. He never wanted to see me… Never, ever wanted to see me. It seemed odd. [...] I said to him, 'Maestro, excuse me, but you're telling me some extraordinary things, and I haven't seen them.' Could it be that I too…' No, it was no use. Because remember, for all the extraordinary things that happen – every single one – there is always a rational explanation, always and without exception. You just have to look for it. [...] He was using well-known conjuring techniques. Silvan, quoted in Massimo Polidoro (editor), Silvan: «Chissà perché Rol non mi volle mai incontrare...», in Scienza & Paranormale nº 87-88, September-December 2009; republished in cicap.org, 4 March 2010. Massimo Polidoro Today, Rol – a figure who remains in the hearts of his admirers – still occasionally inspires fond memories and tributes from his fans, but his name is absent from the annals of parapsychology, a field that has been struggling for almost a century to gain scientific respectability. At most […], Rol can be seen as a kind of quintessentially Western shaman who performed wonders for their own sake, solely to enhance his social standing. Quoted in Piero Angela e Rol: quante fantasie per difendere una favola, massimopolidoro.com, 3 June 2017. Some time ago, Gustavo Rol, a Turin-based psychic, made headlines: his card tricks, admired by Fellini and the lawyer Agnelli, failed to convince anyone outside his circle of admirers, however. Rol's refusal to be filmed or to perform in front of trick experts only confirms his fear of being exposed. Quoted in Quando lo scienziato si fa ingannare, massimopolidoro.com, 21 May 2010. The story of Gustavo Rol, the Turin-based psychic around whom a veritable local cult has developed over the years, is one that periodically throws up surprises. One of the most recent surprises concerns Piero Angela, who had the opportunity to observe Rol closely. He was not impressed at all and described Rol's performances critically in his book 'Viaggio nel mondo del paranormale' ('Journey into the World of the Paranormal'). On certain websites that support Rol, however, it is claimed that Angela was allegedly shocked by what he saw at the psychic's home and that he changed his account out of bias. The truth is quite different. Following Angela's sensational 'exposé', in which he explained for the first time in a book how Rol's 'miracles' could in fact be achieved through simple conjuring tricks, the psychic probably decided to take evasive action. First, he told a journalist friend, Nevio Boni, a series of tall tales about how Angela had been amazed by the demonstrations at his home. In particular, he was supposedly amazed by the fact that Rol had managed to read a book chosen at random, over the phone, by one of Angela's friends who lived in Boston, and also by the fact that, when Rol left, Angela found that all the cheques in her chequebook were made out to 'Gustavo Rol'. When Boni recounted the episode, he claimed that it must have been true, as Angela had never denied it. [...] Piero Angela, who later confirmed this to me as well, simply replied: "It's all nonsense. I've told the real story in my book. The stories in the book about the friend in Boston and the signed cheques are also fabrications by the person who was caught red-handed." Quoted in Piero Angela e Rol: quante fantasie per difendere una favola, massimopolidoro.com, 3 June 2017. External links Rol, Gustavo Category:1903 births Category:1993 deaths Category:Parapsychologists Category:Painters from Italy Category:Italian Freemasons