Compared to the rest of Europe and the US, in Italy tattoo culture spread itself fairly late. Gian Maurizio Fercioni is certainly one of the main advocates of this spread and certainly the most charismatic of the old guard.
Set designer, costume designer, anthropology expert and above all historical figure of the Italian tattoo scene. Over the course of his career he has tattooed criminals, prostitutes, aristocrats, royals, celebrities of the Italian star system. He has tattooed in ports all over Europe. Among others, he has worked with Herbert Hoffmann in Hamburg and with Horiyoshi III, from whom he learned the traditional Japanese technique.
He opened his QueeQueg studio in 1974, probably the first tattoo studio in Italy which later also became a tattoo museum.
Gian Maurizio Fercioni is definitely an icon of the Italian tattoo scene. I met him at the 2018 Bologna Tattoo Expo and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview him.
Talking to him is like taking a journey through time, one really has the feeling that time has stopped.
An intense character, like his stories, a charismatic and fascinating human being impossible not to love.
Here below you can find the original audio (italian). You can read the translated transcription in my article on tattoo.com
