Salerno is a popular tourist destination along the Amalfi Coast in Italy and in the last few years, street artists have been painting murals on the walls of the city. Photos by Buenos Aires Street Art.
Mural by Jorit in Salermo (photo © BA Street Art)
One of the most iconic murals in Salerno is an artwork painted by Jorit Agoch on the walls of the Sabatini-Menna High School of Art. The mural features a giant blue eye with the letters ‘PE’ and ‘CE’ on the eyelid and a dove of peace connecting with the ‘A’. This mural is located at the roundabout at via Pietro da Acerno. Check out this article about the best murals by Jorit around Naples.
Parco Pinocchio
Sculpture of Pinocchio (photo © BA Street Art)
Across the street from Jorit’s mural is Parco Pinocchio where you can see a striking sculpture of Pinocchio along with some murals relating to the children’s story character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi. Some of the walls around the park are also decorated with portraits of Pinocchio and friends.
Mural featuring Pinocchio in Parco Pinocchio (photo © BA Street Art)
‘Pino’ or ‘pin’ refers to ‘pine’ and ‘occhio’ in Italian means ‘eye’ referring to the pineal gland or third eye. The story of Pinocchio isn’t a simple tale about a boy whose nose gets bigger when he lies, it’s arguably one of the greatest allegorical spiritual masterpieces ever published. Pinocchio’s transformation and path to enlightenment depends on abandoning falsehoods, breaking free from dishonesty, and avoiding intoxicating substances in order to achieve a higher state of consciousness. Pinocchio is in fact much more than just a puppet, he’s a reflection of each and every one of us and the purpose of life itself. By opening our pineal gland through these practices (also through meditation, deep breathing exercises and connecting with our inner selves) we are able to see the truth, learn our soul’s mission in life and how to heal.
Mural by Giuseppe Amed & McNenya (photo © BA Street Art)
Another well-known street artist in Italy who has also left his mark on the walls of Salerno, is Giuseppe Amed. This eye-catching mural (above) painted with McNenya is entitled ‘Green Revolutions’ and was sponsored by Toyota. It’s located on Via M. Iannicelli and features two hands cupping a forest with trees and a leaf with the message to care for the planet.
Rione delle Fornelle district
Rione delle Fornelle (photo © BA Street Art)
Rione delle Fornelle is a historic neighbourhood in the heart of Salerno once a working class area known for its abandoned and ruined buildings and associated with crime. Now, it’s an area full of colour and creativity with the walls of its alleyways and staircases painted with vibrant murals and poems.
Mural by Giuseppe Amed of poet Tommasso Guardati (photo © BA Street Art)
Giuseppe Amed painted a mural of Italian poet Tommasso Guardati on the walls of a pizzeria on Vicolo Masuccio Salernitano 60.
Portrait of Alfonso Gatto (photo © BA Street Art)
Many of the walls are painted with lines from poems created by Alfonso Gatto, an Italian poet who was born in 1909 in Salerno and lived in Rione delle Fornelle. The poem above reads: “Our life is not a trifle our life is not an inheritance, it is not a patrimony that can be enjoyed with impunity: it is something that day by day we earn.”
Another building with poem by Alfonso Gatto (photo © BA Street Art)
Gatto was born in Salerno in 1909 and Salerno at a young age to escape to Milan with his future wife, Agnese Jole Turco. Arrested for anti-fascism, he became a writer for the Resistance and a hermetic poet.
Angel mural by Mauro Trotta in Rione Fornelle (photo © BA Street Art)
Mural entitled ‘The Angel’, by Mauro Trotta on Vicolo dell’Angelo.
Another mural featuring a cat & poem by Alfonso Gatto (photo © BA Street Art)
‘Poetry Walls’
Mural by Patricia Cavalli under an archway in Rione delle Fornelle (photo © BA Street Art)
Poem by Allen Ginsberg (photo © BA Street Art)
Poem by U.S. writer and poet Allen Ginsberg reading: The message is: broaden the area of consciousness”.
Mural by Alice Pasquini (photo © BA Street Art)
In 2014, Italian street artist Alice Pasquini was invited to paint a series of artworks at “Scalinata dei mutilati’ (The Stairway of the Mutilated) together with verses by Alfonso Gatto of Greenpino on the risers of the steps. The stairway connects Via Velia and Piazza Principe Amedeo. The location gets a lot of direct sunlight so unfortunately the artworks have faded considerably. The mural project was sponsored by the Alfonso Gatto Foundation.
Salerno cathedral Duomo di Santa Maria degli Angeli (photo © BA Street Art)
Salerno cathedral Duomo di Santa Maria degli Angeli (above) was built in the 11th century by the Normans and its crypt is believed to hold the body of Saint Matthew, one of the Apostles, together with skeletal fragments in the treasury chapel including his arm and a tooth. As well as the Duomo being a popular attraction for visitors, it’s also an important pilgrimage site.
Mural on Via Portacatena by Anna de Rosa (photo © BA Street Art)
Along Via Portacatena you can also see a mural featuring flowers and inspiring words including “liberty”, “respect” and “solidarity” on the front of Auser community centre that is a non-profit organisation that promotes active aging, volunteering, and social inclusion. It was painted by Anna de Rosa in 2022.
Heart stencil by in5 (photo © BA Street Art)
On the front of a metal electrical box in Rione delle Fornelle, in5 has painted a cool stencil featuring a women with a red light inside a window covering her heart.
Mural in a sqaure featuring Roman goddess (photo © BA Street Art)
In this square in Rione delle Fornelle, this mural features Roman Goddess and the words ‘crescita’, ‘pureza’ and ‘viaggio’ meaning ‘growth’, ‘purity’ and ‘travel’.
All photos © Buenos Aires Street Art
