Er Pelliccia

2011Photoshop exploitable / viral news photodead

Also known as: The Fur · Il Ragazzo con l'Estintore (The Boy with the Fire Extinguisher)

Er Pelliccia is a 2011 Italian photoshop exploitable of shirtless rioter Fabrizio Filippi mid-throw of a fire extinguisher during Rome's Occupy riots, spawning countless forum edits.

Er Pelliccia is a photoshop meme based on an iconic press photo of Fabrizio Filippi, a 24-year-old Italian man captured mid-throw while hurling a fire extinguisher at police during the Occupy Rome riots on October 15, 2011. The image of Filippi, shirtless and masked, twisting his body in an awkward athletic pose beside a burning car, spread across Italian news sites and quickly became fodder for photoshop edits on Italian forums and Facebook pages.

photoshop memesexploitable templatesprotest memesitalian memes

Overview

Er Pelliccia (Roman dialect for "The Fur") is the street nickname of Fabrizio Filippi, a psychology student from Bassano Romano in the province of Viterbo1. During the October 15, 2011 Occupy Rome protest in Piazza San Giovanni, which devolved into urban guerrilla warfare, a press photographer captured Filippi shirtless and face-covered, twisting his body into a dramatic pose while launching a fire extinguisher toward riot police2. The awkward, almost athletic stance in the photo made it ripe for photoshop remixes, and Italian internet communities quickly turned it into an exploitable template.

The Occupy Rome march on October 15, 2011 was intended as a peaceful demonstration by the "Indignati" (Indignant) movement, but it spiraled into violent clashes in Piazza San Giovanni1. An Associated Press photographer covering the riots caught Filippi in several frames mid-throw, but one particular shot stood out: Filippi twisting his entire body beside a burning car, red fire extinguisher in the air4. The image ran across Italian news sites and front pages within hours.

Filippi was tracked down within days. Il Giornale reported that their readers helped identify the masked protester2. He was recognized by a tattoo on his left side bearing a line from an English song ("Despite all the hate your world was shaped with, my love will continue to live") and a distinctive bracelet, both visible in the protest photos2. His profile on the Italian dating site Badoo, where he posted romantic messages and a photo captioned "I'd like a passionate relationship with a girl," confirmed his identity1. His Facebook page, where he listed Jack the Ripper as a personal inspiration and posted anti-state sentiments, was also uncovered4.

His father told reporters he believed Fabrizio had left for university that Saturday morning and was shocked to see his son's photo associated with the riots1.

Origin & Background

Platform
AP news photography (source photo), Italian gaming forum NGI / Facebook (meme spread)
Key People
AP photographer, Italian NGI forum users
Date
2011

The Occupy Rome march on October 15, 2011 was intended as a peaceful demonstration by the "Indignati" (Indignant) movement, but it spiraled into violent clashes in Piazza San Giovanni. An Associated Press photographer covering the riots caught Filippi in several frames mid-throw, but one particular shot stood out: Filippi twisting his entire body beside a burning car, red fire extinguisher in the air. The image ran across Italian news sites and front pages within hours.

Filippi was tracked down within days. Il Giornale reported that their readers helped identify the masked protester. He was recognized by a tattoo on his left side bearing a line from an English song ("Despite all the hate your world was shaped with, my love will continue to live") and a distinctive bracelet, both visible in the protest photos. His profile on the Italian dating site Badoo, where he posted romantic messages and a photo captioned "I'd like a passionate relationship with a girl," confirmed his identity. His Facebook page, where he listed Jack the Ripper as a personal inspiration and posted anti-state sentiments, was also uncovered.

His father told reporters he believed Fabrizio had left for university that Saturday morning and was shocked to see his son's photo associated with the riots.

How It Spread

The Italian gaming forum NGI was the first community to start photoshopping the Er Pelliccia image on October 18, 2011, just three days after the protest. Forum users cut Filippi's distinctive mid-throw pose from the original photo and placed him into absurd contexts, treating the image as an exploitable template.

The Facebook page "Il Meglio Di Internet" soon collected these edits into a gallery that picked up nearly 1,000 likes. The meme spread primarily within Italian internet communities, where the combination of Filippi's dramatic pose, the absurdity of his dating profile being exposed, and the contrast between "Er Pelliccia, romantic tennis player" and "Er Pelliccia, fire extinguisher thrower" gave the meme multiple angles to work with.

Italian media coverage kept the story alive. Filippi was arrested in late October 2011 after being identified by a police official who had been near the trajectory of the thrown extinguisher. He spent 23 days in prison at Regina Coeli before being released with an obligation to report to authorities three times per week. His lawyer argued that Filippi had reached "an adequate level of awareness" and showed remorse.

How to Use This Meme

The Er Pelliccia format typically involves cutting Filippi's twisted mid-throw pose from the original photo and pasting it into unrelated contexts. Common approaches include:

1

Place Filippi's pose into famous paintings, movie scenes, or sports events

2

Replace the fire extinguisher with other objects

3

Position him alongside other meme characters or pop culture figures

Cultural Impact

The Er Pelliccia case became a flashpoint in Italian political debate about the Occupy protests. Commenters on Italian news sites were split: some condemned Filippi as a reckless vandal, while others pointed fingers at the government, arguing that political corruption drove young people to violence. One commenter sarcastically suggested that given his "superb throwing form," Filippi should train for the shot put in track and field.

The contrast between Filippi's public image as a masked rioter and his private life as a romantic dating-site user who played tennis and studied psychology became a recurring talking point. Local politicians from his hometown of Bassano Romano described his family as "democratic, upstanding people engaged in guaranteeing a better future" for the community.

Filippi was eventually sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated resistance and violence against a public official by Judge Tiziana Coccoluto. The prosecution had originally sought eight years, including charges of devastation, but the judge attributed only the resistance charge. He was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros each in damages to Roma Capitale and the public transit company ATAC. Among the officers he was accused of targeting was vice-questore Claudio Cacace.

In his defense, Filippi told the court: "I didn't want to hit anyone" (translated from Italian). He later told reporters he had "ended up in the middle of the clashes by chance" and "lost his head," insisting he was not a black bloc member.

Fun Facts

Filippi's friends described him as a fan of hard-tek music and rave parties, a regular on chat platforms, and "unexpectedly romantic".

Friends recalled a previous incident where Filippi crashed his car into five or six parked vehicles while driving home one night, possibly under the influence.

Filippi was one of 13 people arrested after the October 15 riots. All were under 30, six were minors, and two were women.

The nickname "Er Pelliccia" is in Romanesco dialect, the traditional dialect of Rome, literally meaning "The Fur".

Frequently Asked Questions

Er Pelliccia

2011Photoshop exploitable / viral news photodead

Also known as: The Fur · Il Ragazzo con l'Estintore (The Boy with the Fire Extinguisher)

Er Pelliccia is a 2011 Italian photoshop exploitable of shirtless rioter Fabrizio Filippi mid-throw of a fire extinguisher during Rome's Occupy riots, spawning countless forum edits.

Er Pelliccia is a photoshop meme based on an iconic press photo of Fabrizio Filippi, a 24-year-old Italian man captured mid-throw while hurling a fire extinguisher at police during the Occupy Rome riots on October 15, 2011. The image of Filippi, shirtless and masked, twisting his body in an awkward athletic pose beside a burning car, spread across Italian news sites and quickly became fodder for photoshop edits on Italian forums and Facebook pages.

photoshop memes exploitable templates protest memes italian memes

Overview

Er Pelliccia (Roman dialect for "The Fur") is the street nickname of Fabrizio Filippi, a psychology student from Bassano Romano in the province of Viterbo. During the October 15, 2011 Occupy Rome protest in Piazza San Giovanni, which devolved into urban guerrilla warfare, a press photographer captured Filippi shirtless and face-covered, twisting his body into a dramatic pose while launching a fire extinguisher toward riot police. The awkward, almost athletic stance in the photo made it ripe for photoshop remixes, and Italian internet communities quickly turned it into an exploitable template.

The Occupy Rome march on October 15, 2011 was intended as a peaceful demonstration by the "Indignati" (Indignant) movement, but it spiraled into violent clashes in Piazza San Giovanni. An Associated Press photographer covering the riots caught Filippi in several frames mid-throw, but one particular shot stood out: Filippi twisting his entire body beside a burning car, red fire extinguisher in the air. The image ran across Italian news sites and front pages within hours.

Filippi was tracked down within days. Il Giornale reported that their readers helped identify the masked protester. He was recognized by a tattoo on his left side bearing a line from an English song ("Despite all the hate your world was shaped with, my love will continue to live") and a distinctive bracelet, both visible in the protest photos. His profile on the Italian dating site Badoo, where he posted romantic messages and a photo captioned "I'd like a passionate relationship with a girl," confirmed his identity. His Facebook page, where he listed Jack the Ripper as a personal inspiration and posted anti-state sentiments, was also uncovered.

His father told reporters he believed Fabrizio had left for university that Saturday morning and was shocked to see his son's photo associated with the riots.

Origin & Background

Platform
AP news photography (source photo), Italian gaming forum NGI / Facebook (meme spread)
Key People
AP photographer, Italian NGI forum users
Date
2011

The Occupy Rome march on October 15, 2011 was intended as a peaceful demonstration by the "Indignati" (Indignant) movement, but it spiraled into violent clashes in Piazza San Giovanni. An Associated Press photographer covering the riots caught Filippi in several frames mid-throw, but one particular shot stood out: Filippi twisting his entire body beside a burning car, red fire extinguisher in the air. The image ran across Italian news sites and front pages within hours.

Filippi was tracked down within days. Il Giornale reported that their readers helped identify the masked protester. He was recognized by a tattoo on his left side bearing a line from an English song ("Despite all the hate your world was shaped with, my love will continue to live") and a distinctive bracelet, both visible in the protest photos. His profile on the Italian dating site Badoo, where he posted romantic messages and a photo captioned "I'd like a passionate relationship with a girl," confirmed his identity. His Facebook page, where he listed Jack the Ripper as a personal inspiration and posted anti-state sentiments, was also uncovered.

His father told reporters he believed Fabrizio had left for university that Saturday morning and was shocked to see his son's photo associated with the riots.

How It Spread

The Italian gaming forum NGI was the first community to start photoshopping the Er Pelliccia image on October 18, 2011, just three days after the protest. Forum users cut Filippi's distinctive mid-throw pose from the original photo and placed him into absurd contexts, treating the image as an exploitable template.

The Facebook page "Il Meglio Di Internet" soon collected these edits into a gallery that picked up nearly 1,000 likes. The meme spread primarily within Italian internet communities, where the combination of Filippi's dramatic pose, the absurdity of his dating profile being exposed, and the contrast between "Er Pelliccia, romantic tennis player" and "Er Pelliccia, fire extinguisher thrower" gave the meme multiple angles to work with.

Italian media coverage kept the story alive. Filippi was arrested in late October 2011 after being identified by a police official who had been near the trajectory of the thrown extinguisher. He spent 23 days in prison at Regina Coeli before being released with an obligation to report to authorities three times per week. His lawyer argued that Filippi had reached "an adequate level of awareness" and showed remorse.

How to Use This Meme

The Er Pelliccia format typically involves cutting Filippi's twisted mid-throw pose from the original photo and pasting it into unrelated contexts. Common approaches include:

1

Place Filippi's pose into famous paintings, movie scenes, or sports events

2

Replace the fire extinguisher with other objects

3

Position him alongside other meme characters or pop culture figures

Cultural Impact

The Er Pelliccia case became a flashpoint in Italian political debate about the Occupy protests. Commenters on Italian news sites were split: some condemned Filippi as a reckless vandal, while others pointed fingers at the government, arguing that political corruption drove young people to violence. One commenter sarcastically suggested that given his "superb throwing form," Filippi should train for the shot put in track and field.

The contrast between Filippi's public image as a masked rioter and his private life as a romantic dating-site user who played tennis and studied psychology became a recurring talking point. Local politicians from his hometown of Bassano Romano described his family as "democratic, upstanding people engaged in guaranteeing a better future" for the community.

Filippi was eventually sentenced to three years in prison for aggravated resistance and violence against a public official by Judge Tiziana Coccoluto. The prosecution had originally sought eight years, including charges of devastation, but the judge attributed only the resistance charge. He was also ordered to pay 10,000 euros each in damages to Roma Capitale and the public transit company ATAC. Among the officers he was accused of targeting was vice-questore Claudio Cacace.

In his defense, Filippi told the court: "I didn't want to hit anyone" (translated from Italian). He later told reporters he had "ended up in the middle of the clashes by chance" and "lost his head," insisting he was not a black bloc member.

Fun Facts

Filippi's friends described him as a fan of hard-tek music and rave parties, a regular on chat platforms, and "unexpectedly romantic".

Friends recalled a previous incident where Filippi crashed his car into five or six parked vehicles while driving home one night, possibly under the influence.

Filippi was one of 13 people arrested after the October 15 riots. All were under 30, six were minors, and two were women.

The nickname "Er Pelliccia" is in Romanesco dialect, the traditional dialect of Rome, literally meaning "The Fur".

Frequently Asked Questions