Walking the streets of Bologna Italy, it is hard not find graffiti lining the walls. Some are artistic, some are tags and others are just simple messages people wish to leave.
Italy is known for its Roman heritage so one would think that graffiti in such a place would be bad. Graffiti can be associated with gangs or as something bad, so having it be so prominent in a place that’s rich in history doesn’t make sense. But it does.
Mike Manchester, a resident in Bologna, explained that graffiti has been around since the Romans, but not the graffiti many think of today. The graffiti Manchester is referring to is the small written phrases that are generally political or about one’s thoughts.
People can walk around and find walls filled with different people’s thoughts on different topics both political and personal. It’s a way for their voices to be heard and not necessarily punished for it.
It’s not just phrases, artwork can be found throughout Bologna that has messages attached to it.
“There’s some graffiti that’s revered,” Manchester said. “It’s from the 70s. and comes from both these anarchist and communist movements here.”
Lately another type of graffiti that has been popping up is tagging. Tagging is the type of graffiti many will find in the U.S.
“Tagging comes from the American culture. People saw that and they thought it was cool,” Manchester said.
Many don’t enjoy the tagging. Manchester said that as fast as the city tries to remove the tags, more tags just pop right back up.
Tagging may soon be more a part of the graffiti scene in Bologna.
Bologna also has a healthy relationship with the students. According to Manchester the students spearhead a lot of the graffiti.
“Students have a lot of power here,” he said. “The student kind of areas the students are very much in charge and the idea of graffiti and things like that are a part of the student expression.”
In contrast, Urbino has different views on graffiti. Walking through the historic city it’s a little harder to find graffiti. It can be found on garages or doors but rarely on the walls.
This is because Urbino doesn’t view graffiti in a positive light. It’s a historical town with architecture from the Renaissance time period. They want to preserve it instead of mark it with tags.
Yuri Tarquini is a student at the University of Urbino and said that he doesn’t like graffiti but can see if it’s artistic it might have a place.
“There are certain parts of Italy that are, in a way, more new than others,” Tarquini said. “For example, in a city like Milan, graffiti wouldn’t be a bad thing. But it depends on what you are writing. It would be a shame to see architecture and then scribbling all over it.”
Most of the graffiti that can be found in Urbino is tagging. However if you look closely to the bricks around the city you may find some writing. Names, words or small phrases can be found on bricks around the city. Similar to what can be found in Bologna but instead of paragraphs it single words.
When I first saw them, I thought of the Aspen Trees. People will carve their names, dates or important message into these trees. In a way these bricks are like the Aspen Trees.
“It’s historical,” Tarquini said. “If you go to Pompeii, you’ll see these kind of graffiti’s all on the walls. If you’re carving your name or if there’s a deep significance to it, I believe that’s kind of cool and romantic.”
Commentaires