Street Art in Rome, Italy

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Street Art in Rome, Italy

Street art is starting to turn into somewhat of a commercial phenomenon. What used to be an urban subculture associated with vandalism and juvenile delinquency is now starting to take over the mainstream.

Let’s take for example the mysterious Banksy, whose identity is kept under tight wraps. His artwork graces walls all over the world with his (often politically) provocative graffiti. His recent documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop is nominated for an Oscar. In this movie he is mocking how the art world has somewhat turned into a ridiculous money maker but the popularity of his work and the hype about his hidden identity don’t exactly reflect an attitude that is strictly anti-mainstream.

Whatever your position on graffiti, there is no denying that art gives the travel industry a remarkable money boost. Travellers come to places like Paris, Florence and Rome to admire the architecture and visit its museums. After all, who doesn’t want to visit the Colloseum or the Pantheon when in Rome?

On almost every corner you will find historical sites dating back to powerful empires or artwork by one of greatest artists in history. Botticelli, Da Vinci, Tiziano, need I say more?

Rome is a hallmark for history and classical art but keep in mind that we are talking about a modern metropolitan area where new trends begin and new artists emerge every day. It seems that the clash between classic art and street art couldn’t be bigger in any other city.

But Rome is full of graffiti. It is even welcomed as long as some kind of message is recognized and, of course, it must look good. In fact, graffiti dates back to the Roman Empire and the word itself comes from graffiato, which means scratched.

With the growing popularity of Banksy, it is evident that there are many people trying to copy him. A couple of years ago there was a piece found in Rome that strongly resembled the work of Banksy, but it was detected to be a copy. I don’t know if it is still there or if it has been painted over, but my bet is that you will find plenty of other inspiring street art when exploring Rome.

To fully experience the treasured city and explore its rich art history, we found that the best option is to rent apartments in Rome. You might even find some interesting street art on the apartment you choose!

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This guest post was written by Miss Moci from Only-apartments.com Travel Blog who accidentally on purpose stumbled into writing. Daughter of a German father and a Filipino mother, she grew up in Germany, lived in the US, Denmark and currently resides in Barcelona.

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