web analytics

Italian Graffiti

by Vicki Jeffels on August 16, 2012

One of the things that really surprised us about Italy was the graffiti everywhere. I don’t just mean on buildings, walls or bus shelters, as there is in every other major Western city I’ve ever visited, but it was everywhere.

rialto bridge graffiti

Surprised to see graffiti even on the Rialto Bridge in Venice

There was even graffiti on the information boards explaining the story behind the treasures of antiquity.

There was graffiti on the walls of old buildings..

Graffiti, Trastevere, Rome

Graffiti, Trastevere, Rome

There was even graffiti on the antiquities themselves!

At first we were shocked and then after a while we kind of got used to it. It was representative of the dichotomy Italy is, it seemed to somehow fit this country that is on the face of it so vibrant, as if new, but so old. Even that very vibrancy is in itself, age old.

Is it a lack of self-consciousness that makes a city vital? Even when covered in graffiti or when the plaster is peeling off the walls?  It must be, because it’s been happening for a while.

Look what we found at the Colosseum!

colosseum grafiti

Graffiti at the Colosseum, from the days of gladiators!

That’s age old graffiti, right there. To think someone sat there and chiselled their thoughts about their gladiator hero of the day into the stone.

That’s graffiti with commitment!

Whilst graffiti is not always a great thing – it can be simply destructive and soul destroying (especially if it’s your fence or the Rialto Bridge!) – sometimes it is worthwhile – expression as art. I’m not sure when graffiti changes from being vandalism and ugly to being challenging and even beautiful, but it can happen.

Banksie does it for our generation in the UK….

Banksie

What makes Banksie an artist not just a graffitist?

But what then is the difference between Banksie’s celebrated work and these impressive public art pieces on the South Bank in London?

graffiti South Bank, London

Graffiti, South Bank, London

 

graffiti South Bank

I’m coming to the conclusion that graffiti artists can take the pulse of a society, and when they do it beats out the sure steady rythym of a society that is healthy, full of colour and where there is freedom of expression.

Isn’t that the most beautiful (and stylish) thing of all? The freedom to express yourselves and just be?

But surely they should wipe off the graffiti from the actual artistic treasures!

 

Disclaimer: We travelled to Venice as guests of #Groupon and to Rome as guests of #Wimdu. All opinions above however are my own.

Be Sociable, Share!

Tagged as: Graffiti, Italy, Rome, TTOT, Venice

  • expatmum

    I remember thinking the same thing many moons ago in Venice. Here in Chicago they quite often decorate walls with graffiti art and it’s really good. Makes a difference when you’re walking through a subway (underpass) and there’s actually something to look at. But then there’s the gang signs all over our garage doors etc. That’s really annoying although it scrubs off quite easily.

    • vegemitevix

      Yeah, I was surprised that it didn’t offend me. In most places it looked quite good and there were only a few tags that were obviously people’s name/gang. I agree that when it’s done well it’s an addition to the folkgeist of a city, but how do we decide if it’s done well?

  • http://www.facebook.com/uniquenique01 Monique Devroeg

    Some graffitti is art but others is pure spite and vandalism. When the graffitti enhances the location it can turn otherwise dreary places into things that make you smile. We had a street corner in South Africa that was just one huge blank concrete wall until some graffitti artists got hold of it then it became an amazing piece of art I wonder sometimes if it is still there.

    • vegemitevix

      That makes me smile too when it happens. In Auckland some of the bus shelters were purposefully graffitied with the most amazing urban art, so that there was simply no need to actually tag it with names etc.

  • http://bloggertropolis.blogspot.com/ Steve

    Grafitti is the oldest form of protest… and the oldest evidence of wit. Most of the time anyway.

    • vegemitevix

      Yeah, I’d agree with that.

  • Jen

    mostly its sad and those people need dealing with
    the grafitti that is actually art is often very clever

    • vegemitevix

      Very true. Have you heard about Banksie in NZ? There’s always a buzz when another potential ‘Banksie’ graffiti is discovered and of course not knowing who the artist is adds to the intrigue.

  • http://21stcenturymummy.com 21st Century Mummy

    You rarely see any graffiti in Singapore, not even in HDBs, their equivalent of council houses. It’s bizarre. The strict laws or well brought up kids, who knows.

    • vegemitevix

      I remember that. I wonder if that is also representative of the society? I know Singapore used to be very controlled society (no chewing gum, no spitting etc) but is it still that way?

      • http://21stcenturymummy.com 21st Century Mummy

        Yes it’s controlled, even things like the media and tv (not even a cleavage gets through the censor), you can chew chewing gum (although for medicinal purposes), but you can only get it from dentists etc. Bizarrely prostitution is legal! There are harsh punishments including the death penalty, but it means there are low crime rates and it is such a safe place to bring up kids here. I definitely don’t have an issue with the strict laws, Britain could learn a lot!

  • http://twitter.com/c_oreilly Candi

    Whether it’s art or graffiti is usually a matter of opinion isn’t it? I suppose I think of graffiti as a purely urban art, especially in “industrial” settings, but I can’t say I appreciate it on historic buildings, and I certainly don’t think it works in suburbia or the countryside – then it just looks aggressive and intimidating to me.

    • vegemitevix

      Indeed it is a subjective argument, but I do agree that graffiti in suburbia looks intimidating, and I was disappointed to see it on the Rialto Bridge.

Previous post:

Next post: