Street Art in Italy

A millenia of tradition, slightly elevated

One of my favorite things to do when I’m in Italy is to take photos of the street art. That’s because it’s everywhere. Graffiti is an ancient tradition that dates back to ancient Egypt and Rome. In fact, here’s some graffiti from the Colosseum (Note: DO NOT decide you also want to add your own mark unless you want to get hauled off by the polizia, slapped with a $17K fine, and jailed for up to five years).

Graffiti has been part of the fabric of the country for centuries, sometimes woven into the very art itself. Case in point, here’s graffiti from German soldiers in 1528, scratched into the walls of Villa Farnesina during the Sack of Rome.

There is still a lot of typical graffiti; the paint can tags of gang members and teenagers with nothing better to do, but amidst it all is a wonder of art, some in finer taste than others.

Some walls have a mish-mash of street art on them.

There are a lot of cats.

Some are just silly.

Some just make me smile.

This octopus is devouring the Portico di Octavia in the Roman Ghetto.

I’ve got soooo many photos of great street art in Italy that I’m going to have to do these in a few installments. So stay tuned for some more in future posts.

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What’s Bringing Me Joy This Week'

• I found this fantastic Italian learning app Beelinguapp that I think is going to make a huge difference in my listening and comprehension skills. I’m particularly concerned about the listening part of the B1 Italian test I’m taking next month and I’m hoping this will help!

• My friends

  Anjali M Duva
  and
  Henriette Lazaridis
  are launching Galiot Press, publishing bold, astonishing books from new and overlooked voices! Join the Kickstarter here to learn more about it when it launches in April. And you can learn more about their process at the
  Galiot Press Substack
  .

• This cool map, shared by Ancient History Art on Threads.

  

• This amazing video…mesmerizing.

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Let’s talk about the good stuff. If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! 🍒🍗🍷

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