Brief overview of Expedition to Italy 

An expedition to Italy with the guidance of Dr. Maltsev has begun and it promises many exciting findings. The forthcoming field research will be a challenging one, it will consist of three parts and the expeditionary team will work on the research material, that in the future, will form the foundation for books, monographs and scientific findings. Let’s open the hidden door and shed some light about the plans for this expedition.

PART 1

Garda Island is the largest island on Italy’s Lake Garda. It is the heart of the entire Italian sport-hunting gun industry. The Expedition Corps plans to visit around ten manufacturers including Benelli, Perazzi and Beretta. The work of these historical industries will be thoroughly studied and analyzed. The expeditionary group will also get acquainted with the craftsmen of weapon making.

What is historically captivating about this island apart from being the land of oldest arms manufacturers? According to the legend, Francis of Assisi while returning from his journey in 1220, visited the island of Garda and was inspired by the place that he convinced the owner Btemino da Manerba to build a small skete on the rocky area of the northern part. In 1227 the skete hosted St Anthony of Padua and, according to tradition, in 1304 Dante Alighieri was also a guest there, who recalled this place in his Divine Comedy.

Its name Benacus, which a thousand rills,
Methinks, and more, water between the vale

Camonica and Garda and the height
Of Apennine remote. There is a spot
At midway of that lake, where he who bears
Of Trento’s flock the past’ral staff, with him
Of Brescia, and the Veronese, might each
Passing that way his benediction give.

(Fragment from Canto 20)

Dante writes that a thousand rills feed the lake, closed to the east by the village of Garda and to the west by the vale Camonica.

The island became an important ecclesiastical center and hosted prominent religious figures. Among them was Father Francesco Licheto, vice-general of the Franciscan Order, who founded a school of theology and philosophy there in 1470. However, the decline of the island’s religious community began with the death of Father Francesco. From 1685 to 1697, the monastery was inhabited only by monks on retreat. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte finally closed the monastery.

This small island, bathed in emerald waters, has been called the “Island of Monks”, the “Island of Skulls”, Isola Scotti, Isola Lechi, Isola de Ferrari and Isola Borghese. During the expedition we will find out how many secrets it still hides.

The Expeditionary Corps plans to explore not only the island of Garda itself, but also its most mysterious surroundings. These include the ancient town of Riva del Garda, the «lemon» commune of Limone Sul Garda, and the peninsular town of Sirmione. These places have not yet been explored. They are full of fascinating historical sites of great scientific value: Porta di San Michele, Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, Church of Santa Maria Inviolata, Parrocchia di Santa Maria Assunta, Parrocchia di Limone sul Garda, Church of San Benedetto, Scaligero Castle, Church of Santa Maria della Neve. The Expedition team will study all of them in detail.

PART 2

The next stop of the expedition will be beautiful Naples, the largest city in southern Italy, located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Naples. Dr. Oleg Maltsev will meet his good friend, the multiple Olympic champion Ennio Falco in this historical city. During previous field study in Italy, Maltsev and Falco had productive meetings and training sessions on the shooting field owned by Falco family for many generations. Apart from training on the field and exploring the details of shooting methodology of Falco, there will be a series of lectures within the framework of scientific study of Skeet discipline.

Photo: Expeditionary Corps at the shooting academy of Ennio Falco. Italy, 2022.

PART 3

Sicily is the largest of the Italian islands and home to one of the most powerful organizations in the world, the famous Sicilian Mafia. Historically, people that belonged to this organization learned how to achieve wealth, power and security. Few organizations manage to implement even one component, let alone a combination of the three. Therefore, in Palermo, the Expeditionary Corps will undertake a comprehensive study of entire Sicily which is going to result in a monograph with an intriguing title “Shepherd for Wolves.” The basis of this monograph will be the analysis of ten biographies of Mafia bosses who have had an impact on the history of criminology as a discipline. Their biographies will be illustrated with photographs and will contain unknown and possibly shocking facts. The Expeditionary Corps will also conduct a series of difficult interviews with well-informed people of the history of Italian criminal subcultures.

The Memory Institute’s previous work leading up to this expedition was aimed at exploring a fundamental question consisting of many related factors, such as “why do people choose a certain person to lead a company or an organization?”. Now, the research team at the Memory Institute is taking this subject a step further and asking the question, “And then what? What should the company’s leader do to make his or her organization achieve consistent results?” The results of the new study will also help business leaders not only to stay that way, but to take their companies to a new level of triumphant success. Thus, the central question that the forthcoming book “Shepherd for Wolves” based on the study interdisciplinary study of historical figures and oldest organizations, prototypology and training methodology is meant to answer the question “How does one become an outstanding person in business?”

Photo: The cover of book “Shepherd for Wolves”

FOUNDATION LAID FOR NEW STUDY

Maltsev has already defined a new study, which is also related to shooting and the functioning of the human mind. During the expedition the scientific group will collect all the necessary material for the theoretical part of the study. Practical research will begin as soon as the expedition team returns to the institute. One of the most difficult types of shooting has been chosen as a parallel research vector, namely the Olympic discipline as air pistol shooting. The task is to study and explain the work of the mind under the conditions of statics. Why air pistol shooting discipline? The main reason is that it takes two opposites to reveal the fullness of understanding. Going back to the previous study of the mind, the research was conducted based on the model of skeet shooting which is dynamic in its essence. In contrast, the air pistol shooting is static. The three monographs to be published this year on the way human mind works during high coordination activities and tasks. Dr. Oleg Maltsev started a difficult study that hasn’t been studied yet, namely the study of complex processes of our mind in conditions of absolute statics.

Stay tuned for more news and articles in English language about the ongoing expedition lead by Academician Oleg Maltsev
Materials in English can be read in this section of the website