In the last few years the street art, a form of artwork displayed on buildings, streets, and other publicly viewed surfaces, has been revalued: first considered as an act of vandalism or rebellion against social and political issues, street art is today not only a cultural movement but a symbol of our times and graffiti, murals and other colorful mosaics are just another way to tell our everyday life. This is the reason why street art is now widely recognized as a proper form of art. Even Sicily opened its spaces and streets to this art form, that is now well-accepted and encouraged, especially to give new light to old facades, an explosion of colors and imagination that in Palermo, as well as in many parts of Sicily, changed the character of historic centers and suburbs. The best way to discover this new side of Sicily is renting one of our family villas in Sicily and live a great, different, family holiday!
In Sicily street art is not only a great opportunity to increase urban decorum but also a path to follow to requalify old and abandoned areas, to support multiculturalism and integration. Moreover, street art can really be used as an opportunity to create new types of tourism: several festivals, events and tours dedicated to street art, organized all around the island, have contributed to the explosion of this phenomenon, becoming a chance to let tourists know more about the history of those territories that have always been out of the traditional touristic routes, to create possibilities of growth and development for local communities. So, the relation between tourism and street art in Sicily is real.
Walking through the ancient narrow streets of Palermo, visitors can admire a lot of incredible examples of street art: Pope Sergio I of Sten Lex, the Hybrids of Ema Jons at Vucciria Market, and the provocative works of Uwe Jaentsch in Piazza Garraffello, not to mention the amazing mural overlooking the seaside village of Cala, painted by sicilian street artists Rosk and Loste to pay tribute to judges Falcone and Borsellino.
Catania, after the “Art Silos” project of 2015, has become an attraction pole of street art lovers, housing, among others, the largest vertical mural of the world, made by the portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (a.k.a. Vhils) lending a brand new identity to the port waterfront and . Not to mention the various street art events that took place this year all over the island such as Ballarò Buskers Festival in Palermo, the AMT Art Project in Catania and The Festiwall of Ragusa.
If you want to discover more about sicilian street art, you can take a look at Street Art Palermo on Facebook.
