Gustavo Rol
Encyclopedia
Gustavo Adolfo Rol was an Italian thinker and painter. His devotees consider him to have been a great spiritual master and have testified to miraculous feats he supposedly accomplished.
Rol was born in Turin
, Italy, and graduated in law at the University of Turin, Faculty of Law
in 1933. He also studied in London and Paris and began a banking career that took him to other major European cities. While in Marseille
during 1925-1926, he encountered a person who showed him some card tricks, triggering an interest in magic
al and paranormal phenomena. He pursued deeper spiritual studies and had an experience in Paris of which he wrote in his diary: "I discovered a terrible law that links the color green, the musical fifth, and heat. I have lost my will to live. I am frightened by power. I shall write no more!" As a result of this crisis, he briefly retreated to a convent
.
Upon returning to Italy, in the 1930s he became known in aristocratic and political circles. Rol engaged in various demonstrations of his supposed mystical powers, including telepathy
, clairvoyance
, and other psychic or magical feats. He also became a friend, among others, of film directors Federico Fellini
and Franco Zeffirelli
and writer Dino Buzzati
. Toward the later part of his life, and after his death, Rol was a focal point of debate in Italy between skeptics and advocates of parapsychology.
Rol was born in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy, and graduated in law at the University of Turin, Faculty of Law
University of Turin, Faculty of Law
The University of Turin, Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Turin . The faculty of law is elsewhere called the Law Department of the University of Turin...
in 1933. He also studied in London and Paris and began a banking career that took him to other major European cities. While in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
during 1925-1926, he encountered a person who showed him some card tricks, triggering an interest in magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
al and paranormal phenomena. He pursued deeper spiritual studies and had an experience in Paris of which he wrote in his diary: "I discovered a terrible law that links the color green, the musical fifth, and heat. I have lost my will to live. I am frightened by power. I shall write no more!" As a result of this crisis, he briefly retreated to a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
.
Upon returning to Italy, in the 1930s he became known in aristocratic and political circles. Rol engaged in various demonstrations of his supposed mystical powers, including telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
, and other psychic or magical feats. He also became a friend, among others, of film directors Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
and Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
and writer Dino Buzzati
Dino Buzzati
Dino Buzzati-Traverso was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for Corriere della Sera. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel Il deserto dei Tartari, translated into English as The Tartar Steppe.-Life:Buzzati was born at San Pellegrino,...
. Toward the later part of his life, and after his death, Rol was a focal point of debate in Italy between skeptics and advocates of parapsychology.