Street art: the fourth stop of our search for the most beautiful walls in Italy
In the past years we started a journey to discover the beauty in the streets of Italy, as a way to discover the present culture, the values held close by the city’s inhabitants. Street art is always about sending a message.
We started our journey in Naples. We then went to Bologna. We moved to the heel of Italy, the region of Apulia, with its poetry. Now we finally arrived to the capital: Rome!
Cover picture by Hervé Simon
When in Rome
We selected a few murals and made a top 5 with the best picks! Subscribe to our newsletter to see the rest of the rank tomorrow!
N.5 The redeeming child
The district of Tor Marancia is a small urban village dating back to 1947 and inhabited by around 500 families. It is now an open air museum with 22 murals painted by as many artists from 4 continents on the facades of 11 public buildings. This particular piece was inspired by a real child named Luca, who lived in this very building. Created by the French artist Seth, it conveys the idea of colored pastels as a simple yet powerful tool to escape reality and view the world from a different perspective.
N.4 Hostia
This mural by Nicola Verlato has been nicknamed “the Sistine Chapel of street art”—not only for its impressive size (10m x 6m) but also for its rich allegories, masterful style, and powerful narrative. It depicts the tragic death of one of the most renowned writers and directors of the 20th century, Pier Paolo Pasolini, who was murdered in 1975. The mural portrays Pasolini’s descent towards death, watched over by two journalists interviewing his alleged killer. As he falls, he arrives in an allegorical space, a small island where he is shown as a child, sitting on his mother’s lap, to whom he dedicated his earliest verses. Nearby, he turns towards Petrarch, his mentor during that formative period of his life.
N.3 Piazza Farnese
This time, street art takes on a temporary form. While restoration work is underway on the Farnese Palace, the cover was designed by the French artist JR, who envisioned a dramatic gash in the façade, offering a glimpse into the walls beneath. It’s a brilliant visual effect that plays with perspective and creates a striking impression.
N.2 Bethlehem 2024: who stole Christmas?
Not far from Piazza Navona, the artist Drugi has created a powerful and provocative message for peace. His depiction of Mary and Joseph handing over their child to the military represents both the violation of innocence and a poignant call for peace and resistance in Gaza.
N.1 Hunting pollution
This mural holds the title of the largest anti-smog artwork in Europe. Made possible by Airlite technology, it uses a special multilayered paint containing a carbon fiber core that captures and breaks down harmful pollutants. The mural symbolizes nature’s fight for survival against the relentless threat of pollution. In the polluted sea below, tentacles rise from a oil barrel. Above, a 12-meter-tall tricolored heron—an endangered species—stands tall and vibrant, hunting its prey as it metaphorically “chases” pollution away from the city.
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