Sadly, World War II bombers left a wake of damaged buildings behind them in Palermo, many still not renovated. Blank walls, even crumbling ones, are magnets for street art.
Some of these photos from our explorations are authorized works; some are enormous murals attempting to humanize housing projects; and others are found in random spots within the city’s labyrinth of narrow streets.
Stumbling across a signature you recognize from other cities can feel like bumping into an old acquaintance, such as the above image of Santa Rosalia, Palermo’s patron saint. We first came across work by TV Boy in Malaga, Spain.
While TV Boy’s saint is deteriorating, the condition of contemporary plexiglass votives of saints that were part of an organized effort is even more distressing. “20 Saints for the City of Palermo” was organized in 2022 by the American-based nonprofit APPA as the Art&Poetry Open-Air Museum.
APPA invited 20 artists from the United States and Europe to participate in the exhibition in the historic center. A major series of related celebratory and cultural events were staged with more planned. Unfortunately, those and a program investing in fostering the talents of artistic youths in Palermo were cancelled three months ago, according to APPA’s Instagram account, because of continuous acts of vandalism. APPA has packed up their offices and left the city.
But at least the street artists are persistent. Expect another installment of photos of their efforts.
Postcards from Barton Springs 