Salerno, murals instead of scars in the heart of the historic center amidst approval and groans

The world is nothing more than a canvas for our imagination, he wrote Thoreau. And urban art is perhaps one of the main manifestations of this. After Milan, Bologna, Rome, also to Salerno street art seems to have finally crossed the boundaries of the act of rebellion, to have freed itself from its ancillary role and to have assumed, to all intents and purposes, the dignity of a performative action capable, with a sign, of redesigning spaces and restoring beauty where before there was vandalism and defacements. A rather common fact in Old Townwhere from Hagia Sophia in many alleys and squares, dozens of young writers, with their tags, have not spared even real works of art, such as the murals dedicated to Salerno painter Alfonso Gatto, both on the Scala dei Mutilati and in the Fornelle district. The last episode, in chronological order, was about via Giovanni Guarna, the side street that leads from the Duomo to via Botteghelle. Here, in recent days, colorful writings have appeared on ancient columns and on the walls of historic buildings, close to some commercial activities. A fact, yet another, which has pushed some traders who care about the roots of their city, to commission some wall paintings from a local artist to cover the signs and restore a minimum of urban decoration to one of the areas usually most photographed by foreign tourists. «Me and the owner of the Tranchino bakery we thought it would be better to cover these scars with a painting – he says Aldo Caiella of the Barroom – Not all residents liked this, but I don’t want to cause unnecessary controversy. Ours was a gesture dictated by the desire to bring beauty back to a place that is steeped in history and culture and which on several occasions has ended up in the sights of vandals. This is the spirit from which we started, without allowing ourselves, among other things, to work on the columns which are assets protected by the Superintendence”. The initiative was very popular with city ​​councilor Tonia Willburger, already a member of Sigec, the general catalog information system, a collaborative platform for the cataloging of archaeological and architectural heritage.

«I believe that the time has come for the Municipality to equip itself with an ad hoc regulation – explains Willburger – We should identify areas of the city to dedicate to street art and possibly establish a commission that can evaluate the works that are proposed from time to time. I consider it an excellent tool for giving voice, space and visibility to the artists of our territory, but also for creating a stylistic signature that can give a new identity to a city that is growing in the wake of a very strong tourist destination. Furthermore – he continues – it is necessary to think about insurance coverage for artists so that they are covered for any accidents at work. These projects are also successfully tested in other Italian cities and beyond and processes of this type could also serve as an example for Salerno. I will be the spokesperson for a proposal to be submitted to my colleagues and first of all to the mayor Vincenzo Napoli who has always shown himself to be very sensitive towards these topics”.

Meanwhile, the paintings that covered the writers’ disfigurements were greatly appreciated, particularly by foreigners. A group belonging to the Italian Academy, just the other day used the wall as a backdrop for a series of photos and selfies to share on their Instagram profiles tagging the city of Salerno. «The hope is that there will be no further acts of vandalism – continues Caiella – In this neighborhood we undoubtedly need more controls and perhaps the strengthening of the video surveillance service which, on some occasions, as in the case of Santa Sofia, have proven to work».

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© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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