Discovering Street Art in Rome

Rome is a city that is undoubtedly covered in all kinds of graffiti. A building in some parts of the city can hardly hold a fresh coat of paint for a week without some sort of political slander or other nonsense being sprayed on its sides. However, this vandalism seems to be turning a new leaf as the very vandals themselves are choosing to turn their works into something more creative. Art!

Street art, while in no way is something new to Europe, is beginning to show up more and more right here in Rome. From stencil art and wheatpasting, to video projections and poster art, Street art as a whole is beginning to show a prominent presence on the walls of Rome. While vandalism usually has no real meaning, street art is creative, clever, fun to look at, and in some cases, extremely valuable. Some well know artists even have their own galleries. Take a look around the next time you’re sightseeing in Rome, keep an eye out for what you may find to be not just your average graffitti, but street art.

I found these two pieces while sightseeing in Rome at  Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere.

Article contributed by Sammy Pontrelli, study abroad student in Rome, Italy and graphic designer. Stay tuned for more of Sammy's blog contributions to follow!