Graffiti : Urban Street Art in Italy

A Dumpster in Florence.

My trip to Italy was amazing.  At this point I'm still recovering a bit and catching up on sleep.  While going through all of the 869 images I took during my travels I tried to find themes that I could blog about.  Putting the whole trip into one blog would be overwhelming.  So for the next 5-10 blogs I'll be picking one topic and writing about the images and sites I saw that made Italy so inspiring.  A few of the topics I'm considering: Graffiti, Stray Pets, Book Making, Mask Making, Glass Blowing, Sketch book entries, Architecture, Food, Flowers, Favorite Images, and finally Italy start to finish...We'll see how many months it takes me to get all of these posted :)!

Divider wall on the road to Rome from the bus window.

When I first arrived in Rome, I was taken aback by all of the Graffiti. I knew Rome for it's historical sites and gorgeous architecture, museums and crystal blue fountains, however I wasn't prepared for all of Rome's beauty to be covered with paint.  The more I looked around the Graffiti began to transition from what seemed like vandalism to amazing works of urban art.  The marks didn't always make since but the juxtaposition of historical buildings with their angular elegance covered in bright paint splashes of free moving motion-full expression was breathtaking.

Random building entrance on the streets of Cortona.

I learned that Graffiti actually originated in ancient Italy.  As sculptures and buildings were being erected graffiti was finding its way onto each piece taking shape as inscriptions and drawings and making a stir while it did.  Some of the earliest Graffiti examples were found on the ruins of Pompeii in 1851. The wonderful thing about the Italians is that they consider Graffiti an urban art form, whereas many people in the US see it as vandalism.  Still today as you walk the streets of Italy you can see art in motion with Artists creating their master pieces, even if only for a fleeting moment, on the streets, walls, and ruins that surround you.

Eistein Street Art in the Florence Shopping District.

Calicio Storico parade before the street fight.

Chalk Drawing on the interior wall of the Murano Glass Museum.

Exit of the Museum, giving this guy a smooch!

Stone, Brick and Graffiti.

Letter Glass Art on the Walls and Floor in Murano.

Street art and killer pants.

10 foot tall handwritten title of an exhibit at the Venice Biennale.

Pushing the arrow in just a little bit deeper...

Geometric stair rail with stone and graffiti markings.