Rome Graffiti

 















Covering the entire city of Rome and most of Italy like an oppressing layer of filth, the graffiti in Italy is a constant reminder of the broken political system and paralyzed condition of the police and government agencies to mount any serious effort to address the problem. More often associated with poor urban areas in other countries like America for example, the graffiti in Italy is a vivid example of the bi-polar nature of the Italian people who pride themselves on their personal appearance while living in apartments worth over five hundred thousand Euros covered in graffiti.

The graffiti in Rome like other places in the world serves as an outlet of political expression for the disenfranchised segments of a society. In Italy and especially in Rome, due to the consolidation of the main political parties of the left and right ideologies, the radical elements of these groups have been forced to vent their frustration and thoughts on political matters with the spray can. Walking down a cobblestone street in the historic center of the city just a few blocks from the Parliament and the national seat of government, or through a neighborhood where the average apartment costs $ 500,000, it is not uncommon to see a black right wing Celtic cross, a red left wing hammer and sickle, or a black Nazi swastika spray painted on a wall. The political graffiti, in addition to serving as a means of expression, also tends to indicate which area of the city the supporters of that political ideology live and if there are other political ideologies in the same area. Many times walking the streets of Rome, you will see the lines of a Nazi Swastika filled in or other political symbols crossed out or painted over with another political symbol. However, after carefully analyzing the graffiti in Rome, the percentage of politically motivated graffiti is only about a quarter of the entire amount. The remaining seventy-five percent of the other graffiti consists of soccer oriented graffiti, expressions of teenage love, and urban tags and street art.