Tour of Italian cities where urban art and murals tell modern stories
Street art in Italy doesn’t just come from big cities. In recent years also villages and centers
minors have begun to fill themselves with murals that tell stories related to the territory, to life
daily and, in some cases, to collective memory. Italian Traditions selects some of the
more interesting realities.
Orgosolo, in Sardinia, is one of the most famous places when it comes to murals in Italy. The first
images appear in the late 1960s, in a climate marked by political protest and
social tension; among the first to paint on the walls of the town is also the Dioniso group,
theatrical collective active in those years and among the first to use the mural as a form of expression
politics. Today the works follow one another along the streets of the center and tell the story of work, memory
historical and international themes.
In Dozza, in the province of Bologna, painting has been an integral part of the village for decades. The
Biennale del Muro Dipinto, active since 1960, has brought Italian and international artists to
work on the facades of the houses, until the historic center is transformed into a sky museum
open. The works, today over a hundred, are distributed along the streets and are inserted between
doors, windows and arches. Among these, “The Angel of Dozza”, has become over time one of the symbols
of the place.
More recent projects have also become established in recent years. Aielli, in Abruzzo, is home to Borgo
Universo, born in 2017 as a street art and astronomy festival and grown in the years between
murals, installations and cultural activities spread throughout the country. The works are distributed along the
urban fabric and accompanied by maps and dedicated visits, touching on themes related to the
civil memory and scientific dissemination. Among the most recent works is the mural of Laika
dedicated to Giuseppe Di Matteo, a young mafia victim, created in 2023.
Descending towards the South, Diamante, in Calabria, is the protagonist of Operation Murales,
started in 1981 on the initiative of the artist Nani Razetti together with the Municipality, with the idea of
bringing art straight to the streets. The project involved Italian and foreign artists and has
led to the creation of over 200 murals between the historic center and the seafront. Not by chance
Diamante is indicated as the city of murals, or even “the most painted city in Italy”.
Civitacampomarano, in Molise, is one of the names that recur most often when talking about
street art, especially thanks to the CVTà Street Fest. Born in 2016, the festival is directed by Alice
Pasquini, among the most famous figures on the contemporary Italian scene.
Over time it has brought over fifty artists and more than ninety works to the town, distributed among the alleys, stairways and facades of the historic centre.
Even outside the days of the event, these works remain visible and continue to be part of the urban landscape.
The mural leaves a mark that remains over time. It is born in public space and, precisely for
this, ends up changing the way a place is seen and remembered. In the most
small this effect is even more evident: each image enters the life of the village and
become a part.