A healthy, positive relationship with a parent, then, “is an instrument to prevent crime,” said Martina Gallon, a psychiatrist with BambiniSenzaSbarre. “We have to break the pattern.”

Working with the prisoners, Gallon tries to create environments where fathers and children are interacting directly without mothers around — a rarity in visits at men’s prisons. To promote communication, she and her colleagues use activities that dissolve tension, like art and, more recently, soccer.

On the soccer court that afternoon in Milan, Russo took advantage of every moment of the free time. He picked up his son and spun him around. He let the ball go through his legs and into the goal. When he was shown a mock red card, he walked off the court and kissed Cappelletti through the sideline netting.

“Children give you the strength to hope and look forward,” said Russo, who could remain imprisoned until 2026 for his participation in an international drug trafficking operation. “Through my children, I’m able to see what I want to become, the man I want to be.”

Soon, the sun disappeared through the prison windows, and it grew quiet inside the gymnasium as the event neared its end. At times, it seemed as if the only sound in the room was that of aggressive cheek-kissing.

When it was time for the families to leave, the fathers crowded around the metal gates of the gym, waving, blowing kisses and curling their fingers into hearts. The children and their mothers shuffled down the dank, dim hallway, and the doors closed behind them.