His education included an apprenticeship with a shoemaker after elementary school and the attainment of a middle school diploma.

Sensitive to political and social issues, he embraced socialist ideals. After Italian Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio‘s September 8, 1943, announcement of negotiations with Anglo-American allied forces for surrender, Frabboni joined the nascent partisan groups, participating in actions that contributed to the liberation of the country from Nazi-Fascists. In 1947, he joined the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) and later the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI).

After the war, Frabboni worked as a shoemaker with his uncle, Silvio Minozzi, a high-end shoemaker who collaborated with Mantellassi in Bologna and sold shoes in Sanremo, Rome, and Opatija, Croatia, managing a team of 34 craftsmen.

In 1950, he left the craft industry to become the head of the municipal Employment Office, located on Via Magli a role he held until his retirement in 1980. He founded the union for employment office workers under the Italian Labor Union (UIL) and became a national leader in the organization.

Frabboni was an avid reader and began painting as a boy, inspired by the stunning environment of Villa Berselli. Unconventional compared to his peers, he sported long hair, a bow tie, and mismatched shoes. He often felt misunderstood but channeled his inner turmoil into art and craftsmanship, taking advantage of the free time afforded by a job that ended daily at 2 p.m. Creative, intelligent, and imaginative, he often made what he needed himself, forging iron with a blacksmith named Grandi and firing ceramics in a kiln he built in his garden.

In 1960, he married Ivana Cesari, known as Ivonne. Shortly before, in 1958, he began painting regularly. In 1969, he held his first solo exhibition at the Galvani Gallery in Bologna, followed by numerous other solo and group exhibitions in various Italian cities. In 1970, he won the Suzzara and Argenta prizes. In 1971, he was invited to participate in the IX Sacred Art Biennial of the Antoniano in Bologna and founded the Alternative Images Studio, a collective of artists that exhibited in its gallery in Bologna and other galleries across Italy, promoting political-cultural debates. In 1972, he exhibited with the collective at the Centro Attività Visive of the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara and in San Pietro in Casale.

He dedicated his later years to travel and painting. He passed away at home on September 26 1994, from liver cirrhosis. Shortly before his death, he handed his wife, Ivana Cesari, a letter expressing his desire to donate his real estate and artistic assets to the people of San Pietro in Casale, to create “a sort of museum” in a house according to his wishes. His wishes were fulfilled, and the donation to the municipality was finalized in March 1998. A few years later, on February 23, 2002, Ivana Cesari also passed away. The restoration work on the property, guided by architect Pier Luigi Cervellati, was completed in 2003, leading to the opening of Casa Frabboni, which houses the Museum of the City and an exhibition hall.

Text content by Marianna Biondi