Street art in Sicily, 5 stops for an itinerary through the urban beauty
There where history and modernity meet, there where the Arab-Norman, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles flank urban art. Sicilian Secrets’ journey through street art in Sicily takes us to different places on the island, from Palermo and its province to the Trapani area and Catania. An itinerary of colors, symbolism and magic to be captured and moved elsewhere where a thousand shades, lights and shadows coexist. Just like in Sicily.
Street art in Sicily is a dynamic and surprising artistic expression that has developed in recent years within this fascinating region of Italy. The island offers a unique context for urban art, which beautifully blends with its historical and architectural heritage. This art form, often ephemeral and provocative, has become a creative platform for many local and international artists, who use walls of buildings, streets, and public spaces as a canvas to express their ideas, emotions, and messages. Within the field of street art in Sicily, a wide range of styles, techniques and themes can be discovered, ranging from social criticism to the celebration of well-known Sicilian figures. Sicilian Secrets has selected 5 artworks not to be missed…and photographed!
The Sicilian Fairy – Cinisi (PA)
A fairy flying with wings in the shape of Sicily. This is the theme of the beautiful mural in Cinisi, the result of the creativity of Beny Vitale, aka Trebel. It is perhaps one of the most fairytale-like works of street art in Sicily but, at the same time, with a strong meaning. The bright colors strike the eye of passers-by, the yellow of a butterfly’s wings with a touch of melancholy, a face that manages to convey both serenity and anguish, strength and beauty. The ‘magical’ girl is portrayed sitting on a window sill, her wings are large and she could take flight, discover the world. Instead, the spell is there, in choosing to stay. In believing in the energy of her roots.
The Gate of the Giants – Palermo
Palermo artist Andrea Buglisi has graced the Sicilian capital with a tribute to two significant figures in the island’s history. The faces of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino tower over two buildings, one on the corner of Via Duca della Verdura and the other on Via Sampolo not far from a symbolic place of the fight against the Mafia, namely the bunker room of the Ucciardone, Palermo prison, where the maxi-trial against Cosa Nostra took place. Observing the two men, Falcone looks pensive, while Borsellino’s proud and attentive expression looms over the city. A hymn to lifting our head and looking forward to a better future in the memory of two great men.
The Greatest Look on the Sea – Catania
Take some old silos, put them at the disposal of an artist, and street art in Sicily lights up with a new star. Since 2015, one of the largest urban art installations in the world has towered inside the port of Catania, and the signature is that of Vhils. The main element is the eyes of man pointing to the east, to those peoples who are somehow connected to our island by history and customs, connected by the flavor of the sea. The contrast wins, that of the hard and cold concrete and the benevolent warmth of the human being: a script that today seems as relevant as ever, a closeness to the whole Mediterranean and a reflection on how art and good souls are capable of taking us far, without distance and without limits.
Ennio Morricone – Bagheria (PA)
A tribute to one of the geniuses of Italian music, the unforgettable Ennio Morricone. It is he, wearing a pair of blue and red 3D glasses, who colors Bagheria that is the hometown of director Giuseppe Tornatore. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the very man who directed such masterpieces as ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’ and ‘Baaria’ -appears like a shadow behind him. And it is of course no coincidence that the soundtracks of these films were precisely by the master Morricone. The author of this mural is Andrea Buglisi, who with his street art has paid tribute to a ‘great’ as well as an honorary citizen of the Sicilian municipality. If you close your eyes, imagination turns on the music!
If only we were still in time – San Vito Lo Capo (TP)
Our journey into street art in Sicily ends in a much-loved location-especially in summer! – of the province of Trapani. We are in San Vito Lo Capo and here, right at the entrance to the town, we are greeted by a mural created by Salvatore Ligama, an artist from Caltagirone who has put his signature on numerous urban paintings around the world. If only we were still in time is an embrace capable of communicating dialogue and listening, it is arms that speak of integration and welcome. A way of welcoming any visitor who from the very first meters walked inside San Vito Lo Capo will feel the warmth of hospitality made in Sicily.
