The first ever official guide to discovering street art in Italy is here and is called "Street art in Italia. Viaggio fra luoghi e persone" - "Street art in Italy. A journey through places and people". The guide will be published on 20th September by Polaris Editore, written by Anna Fornaciari and Anastasia Fontanesi, and brings together more than 500 works and 58 places to visit in 17 regions, all aimed to show people a new approach to tourism on the road. "Journeys and routes under the open sky," explain the authors, "in which urban art, ephemeral by definition and constantly evolving, becomes a thread that traces invisible but at the same time indelible links between territories and people, through graffiti writing, street art, neo-muralism and public works that wink at installations".
"Street Art in Italy. Viaggio fra luoghi e persone" is the result of long research work that the Fornaciari-Fontanesi couple has been reporting since 2016 on its "Travel on Art", among the first Italian blogs to deal with contemporary cultural tourism. "It is not a mapping, but a constantly evolving selection of projects that have artistic and social relevance, but above all a tourist potential that takes people by the hand and accompanies them in the discovery of less travelled itineraries," the authors specify.
The guide is all about a journey from metropolis to villages, between rural and urban peripheries, accompanied by photos, anecdotes and practical advice for discovering public art projects beyond the usual itineraries, a guide that leads to the discovery of numerous tourist destinations that hold authentic masterpieces, open to everyone (even four-legged friends) without a ticket to pay or closing times to worry about. From Parco Dora in Turin to the Quartieri Spagnoli in Naples, passing through villages that host "more works of art than inhabitants" such as Camo, in Piedmont, and Stigliano, in Basilicata.
"We want to tell the story of contemporary cultural tourism, avoiding the hit-and-run, inviting people to explore the projects not only from an artistic point of view, but also from a cultural and social one," the authors state, emphasising that "when we talk about art in public spaces, in fact, we cannot make the mistake of separating the artistic act from the territory and the people who live there: this is why, in addition to suggesting and sharing travel ideas, it is important for us that this book tells the story of people, as well as walls. "This is the meaning of urban art," they conclude, "an ephemeral art that serves to trace invisible, but at the same time indelible, links with people.
Blu, Giulio Vesprini, Fabio Petani, Collettivo FX, Vesod, Mrfijodor, Jim Avignon, Pixel Pancho are just some of the artists recounted in this itinerary, which also includes seven contributions from professionals in the contemporary cultural sector, to offer a multi-voice account of the reality of urban art in Italy.