Is the Italian Taxpayer Footing the Bill for Ontopsychology?

The Culture Department of the Bologna Town Government hosts a controversial "science"

The rich Italian city of Bologna, which has been given the title of "European capital of culture" for this year, is organising a new "multidisciplinary and cultural" project entitled “Bologna 2000 – Progetto Uomo” ("Project Man").

These events are also listed on the web page of the "International Ontopsychology Association", whose Italian initials are AIO, and include:
February– A.I.O. – Psicologica Editrice: presentation of the book “Verso la donna del 2000” ("Towards the Woman of the Year 2000")
February 2000 – Annual meeting of the A.I.O. members and update meeting.
May 2000 – A.I.O.-I.I.A., Progetto Uomo – Bologna 2000. There will be a meeting with members of illustrious academies at the Conference on: “Informatization: free access to information for European and world citizens.”

The same Internet page is signed by the Vice President and Secretary General of AIO –
Dr. Cinzia Mingarini - and bears the address of the Organising Office of AIO: viale Aldini    114, Bologna, with its phone number; and advises us that the web page was created by
 Cinzia Mingarini, Roberta Marchi and Roberto Carcagnolo.

Nothing unusual so far, of course. But what is strange is that we remembered reading about this association in a document issued by the Italian Ministry of the Interior on cults in April 1998; so we decided to take a deeper look.

And to try to find out how the town government of Bologna could have given space to such a controversial group.

We therefore asked for information from the town offices, calling the "Bologna 2000" organising committee. A secretary gave us the address of “Progetto Uomo” as well as the portable phone number of the direct organisers of the project in the Culture Department of the town government.

What a surprise, when we found that the address and phone numbers were nothing but the address and phone numbers of the AIO itself and of its followers, Dr Mingarini, Mrs Grazia Gamberini and Dr Massimo Vallini!

We also see that Mrs Roberta Marchi (thanked on the AIO web page) is an employee of the town government of Bologna… what an odd coincidence!

The mystery has been solved. Ontopsychology, a cult described as controversial if not dangerous, has set up its headquarters inside the offices of the Bologna town government, without anybody bothering to check the reliability, seriousness or "culture" of the Association.

Which is why we undertook the task of doing so ourselves.