Presence

« On August 29, 1523, Margherita—known as Madregna—was accused of witchcraft. Tortured with rope, she confessed to practicing sorcery and was condemned to burn at the stake. Her property was redistributed according to Inquisitorial customs. Centuries later, her voice still resonates.Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, fear and superstition spread across Europe, fueling the systematic persecutions now known as the witch hunts. These were not isolated outbreaks of hysteria, but sustained campaigns rooted in political, religious, and social control. The primary targets were women—midwives, healers, widows, the poor, and those who defied the roles imposed upon them.Folk rituals, knowledge of plants, even physical difference could be cited as proof of a pact with the devil. “Witchcraft” became the name assigned to female autonomy.Their executions—by fire, hanging, or torture—were staged as public warnings. Fear had to be made visible.The logic of punishment has not disappeared. Femicide is the brutal echo of those flames. Women continue to be burned—symbolically and, at times, literally—for refusing submission. They are killed by partners, former partners, and family members. The methods have changed; the underlying violence has not.This is not only history. It is inheritance. »