Craving safe cultural adventures in 2021? We just completed a mural tour of the Pigneto neighborhood in the outskirts of Rome and now we’re a bit hooked on the idea of exploring street art. Each mural is beautiful but, maybe more importantly, the mural walk transformed our vision. Every bit of graffiti, every well-placed shadow, vines creeping on tall buildings … it all looks like art.
We intended to park right under a giant food mural I had seen on-line. However, after parking, the mural was nowhere to be seen. How can you hide a multi-story mural? After some frustration and without the courage to stop any locals, we moved on. Our first successful stop was a giant and peaceful creature in a tree. It was, somehow, even more impressive as we approached it, peering through spring branches to have a look. Then, looking behind us, we saw fantastical modern art that we had just passed by unnoticed. The first lesson in looking more carefully.
From here we passed a cafe image that was not even on our planned list and made our way to a parking lot with a giant mural that honestly took our breath away. The mural was painted by visiting artists in 2014 and has no background beyond the faded colors of the 8-storey apartment building. A commentary on the economic conditions of Italy? Of finding home anywere? On the near universal pleasure of a good cup of coffee?
We then wandered on to a new area near the Pigneto metro station. And discovered a three-part politcal mural. This third protests against evictions, displacements and foreclosures (Sfratti, Sgoberi& Pignoramenti).
There’s lots of art in this neighborhood, some famous enough to be on google maps and some less famous or not-yet-discovered by Google. This surprise window and eye combination, for example, stopped me in my tracks. Two artists or one? Planned or unplanned? There’s enough art in this little area that a bottle of cold water and a long wander could be an excellent substutite for a museum gallery.
The next walk was the longest and took us to an area packed with giant murals and small, fun art works. The most impressive installment was a pair of street corners, facing one another, each decorated in round-the-corner murals. Even standing in the middle of traffic, a photo that fully captures the scene is impossible. However, the details may be even more fun even that the full, impressive expanse.
On the way back to the car, we slammed right up against the food mural that we had originally been searching for. A giant tower of botanical art! It’s located just a block off from where we were searching. Oddly hidden in plain sight.
Want to create mural walk near you? The first step (figuratively) is, of course, Google maps. You can start with a nearby town or an area famous for murals. Search for mural (or murale in Italy). You may need to zoom in a bit and then hit “search this area”. Look for a neighborhood with a high enough density to make walking distances realistic. Or, pick a few fantastic murals, and make it a road trip.
Here’s a map of the murales displayed in this post!
For each mural that you want to see, hit “Save”, the little bookmark to the right of the directions icon. You can wing it with your map or create a set of walking / driving directions that link them up using the Add Destination feature in directions. Too much planning? You also always simply step out from your house in search of small installations of outdoor art – planned and unplanned, expected or unexpected.
In any case, pack a picnic and a sketch pad. Be inspired and encourage your kids to sketch what they see, to sketch a new mural for a building en route or even a mural for an imaginary building. If you are feeling really brave, hang a huge tarp on the outside of your garage or house and buy the kids some spray paint!