First of all: Welcome to Italian Exploitation, the place were all your poster dreams come true.

This ambitious project comes from three main conditions: 1) I'm always been in love with genre cinema 2 )I have been collecting movie posters since I was 5 years old 3) the Italian exploitation posters are great but most of the people out there (even collectors, dealers and historians) don't know them properly because nobody has ever celebrated them in the way they deserve.

Sure, Italian poster Art is very well known around the world; artists like Ballester, Martinati, Capitani and Brini (just to mention the biggest ones) were honored many times with books, catalogues and exhibitions around the world. Of course, I love them too and I jealously collect many of their works (Brini's Sunset Boulevard Italian 4sh, Ballester's In a Lonely Place Italian 2sh or Martinati's marvelous Captain Blood Italian 4sh) but, the point, here, is: the Italian poster Art doesn't end in the mid Sixties. In fact, side by side to the Classic Cinema and their related paper's masterpieces, there is always been another “universe”: the colourful, vivid and prosperous world of the Genre Cinema or, in other words, of the Exploitation.

During the 60's and 70's (when the Italian Cinema Industry still existed and was bigggggg!), hundreds of horrific, sexy, erotic, violent, scary and extreme movies used to be sold all around the world and distributed in the movie theatres in the whole country every single week (ah.... nostalgia!). Together with the movies made in Italy and sold on foreign markets (the very famous 42nd Street in New York was packed with Italian flics of any genres...), tons of Exploitation movies from Europe, US and Asia filled the schedules of thousands of cinemas devoted to this genre and to a “particular Audience” (the largest part of it!) who wanted to be shocked, scared, excited and thrilled as much as possible. And, of course, the movie posters played a huge part in this process.

With Italian Exploitation I want to celebrate these great artworks and, in the same time, trace the history of the Exploitation Cinema by way of the best movies (or just the best Italian posters!) in every sub-category. The Project will be divided in 10 volumes: Martial Arts (no, you won't find Bruce Lee here...but all the rip-offs!), Nazi-exploitation, Mondo Movies, Giallo, Violence (including Bikers Movies, Women in Prison etc.), Sexploitation, Erotic-Horror, Hard Core, Pop/Psychedelic and, last but not least: Nuns, Lolitas & Whores (well...I guess the title speaks for itself). To illustrate these books I did use my personal collection: more than 3000 posters that I tracked down everywhere (and I mean it!) during the years; some are in mint conditions, some are ok, others are... a bit “lived” but lots of them are so hard to find that, when you finally get one in your filthy, collector's hands....well...you settle. Basements, old Movie theatres, poster storages, private collectors and sellers: I have bothered anyone to get my goal. Of course I won't use words such as “complete” or “definitive” to describe Italian Exploitation (I'm not even sure it could be possible to get the whole thing: how many hard core movies they released with proper, designed posters? I have no idea), but I'm proud to say that almost all the best is there. So, sit back, enjoy and...to avoid fainting, keep repeating: It's only a Poster, Only a Poster, Only a Poster.....