Street art in Reggio Emilia

route characteristics

Travel time: one day by bicycle.
Difficulty: easy.

To reach the murals in the province the car is necessary.

DESCRiption

Wandering through the streets of Reggio Emilia it is quite easy to come across works of street art, especially in the suburbs and abandoned areas. Redevelopment, Enhancement and Reappropriation have been some of the concepts behind these interventions, real works of art capable of breaking down the dullness of everyday life and transforming urban spaces into "open-air" museums. Street art has thus become a means for exploring the surrounding area with new eyes, an excellent starting point for continuing to talk about art outside the museums and, at the same time, getting to know uncontaminated corners of one's town.

Reggio Emilia seen through the eyes of street artists is a contemporary town capable of renewing itself while remaining stuck to the past. Here is a selection of the most extraordinary street art works scattered throughout our province.

1. THE largest STREET ART workshop

Ex Officine Meccaniche Reggiane

Near the town centre is the area called Parco Innovazione, which occupies the spaces of the former Officine Meccaniche Reggiane, the fourth Italian factory in the 1900s. Today the Reggiane are considered the largest street art workshop in Europe. Even if part of the sheds are still unusable, it is possible to admire large murals on the perimeter of the area, in the redeveloped Sheds 17, 18 and in the Tecnopolo. It all came spontaneously. Gradually it then took on the appearance of a more articulated project, capable of attracting artists from all over the world in the creation of a large collective work. Since it is not possible to wander around the abandoned warehouses, we suggest you to look at the Reggiane Urban Gallery website, a street art gallery created to navigate (in total safety) among the warehouses, the artists and their works.

If you prefer to travel the tour by bicycle, rent it at the Railway Station. Beside the entrance is BiciBox, luggage storage and cycle rental service.

2. CADAVRE EXQUIS

Warehouse of the Municipal Pharmacies

With or without a bicycle, it is easily possible to reach the second mural in the town, inaugurated in July 2022 and inspired by the Yuval Avital's drawings. The work is part of the "The Bestiary of the Earth" project of the Reggio Parma Festival and was created by Simone Ferrarini, starting from the drawings of the Israeli artist.

The Bestiary of the Earth by Yuval Avital: a powerful and evocative reinterpretation of the traditions that have strongly characterized artistic, religious and scientific culture since the Middle Ages. An unconventional investigation into the sense of incompleteness, a feeling that turns into a propulsive drive to seek and discover the most hidden folds of the Ego, in a hybridization or contamination with the animal nestled in each of us. So where does humanity end and where does bestiality begin? Where is he hiding, and above all who is the monster? The artist tries to answer these questions in a multifaceted experiential and multimedia process, a real art ritual, made up of dozens of unpublished works including performances, video art, visual and photographic works, sculptures, scores, theatrical staging and installations.

Possibility to park in via Doberdò 9. The mural can be seen every day by entering the San Lazzaro Park (behind the Psychiatry History Museum).

3. EPOPTEIA!

Polveriera Civic Hall

A wall drawing of over 60 square metres, which decorates the walls of the civic hall of the Polveriera Civic Hall. The work was born from listening to the inhabitants of La Polveriera, which Hu-Be conducted from November 2019 to January 2020. In those months, a relationship was established between the artist and people with frailties, which made it possible listening to fears, dreams, pain, hopes, personal or community stories: an "accumulation" reworked in artistic narration. The over 60 square metres are, first of all, an experience of awareness, presence and listening, of sharing and understanding not free from some unpredictability, as is the very nature of every true experience.

The mural is located inside the Civic Hall, it can also be admired from the glass walls, but we recommend you to book the opening of the room by contacting the Consorzio Oscar Romero: civilisti@consorzioromero.org

4. The maroon heroes

Mirabello

Along Viale IV Novembre, which connects the Railay Station with the beginning of the town centre, on the left is a very important sports facility for Reggio Emilia. From 1910 to 1995 it was the town's main playground, where "great people" of the Reggiana football team played and trained. To celebrate them, a mural was inaugurated in 2016 with the 15 heroes of Reggiana Calcio, 15 among former players and trainers chosen by fans thanks to the initiative of the Vandelli Group, the Municipality and Reggiana itself.

5. A colourful library

Panizzi Library

Inside the Municipal Library it is possible to admire two works of contemporary art that decorate the walls and vaults of the building: the first, Words Words Words, was created by the artist Elena Mazzi to raise awareness against male violence against women. The work is an invitation to read, think, reflect through a "coded" image that reveals words and phrases of women who had the courage to tell their story and fight for a better life. A collective and participatory project to raise awareness of the theme of violence through the language of art and which has "invaded" the public spaces of the town with words, colorus and shapes.

The Library's second famous mural is one of the most photographed works in the town. It is called Whirls and Twirls 1 and is a large work (13.30 x 4.6 m) created on the vault of the Reading Room of the Panizzi Library by a group coordinated by 3 assistants of Sol LeWitt with the collaboration of 9 young artists from Reggio Emilia. The project is one of the 4 works of contemporary art designed specifically for some public places in the town and commissioned by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia in 2004-2005 with the Project "Invitation to..".

6. THE BLACK MAMBA

Palazzetto dello Sport, PalaBigi

In September 2022 the new "PalaBigi" Sports Hall was inaugurated after the restoration works: during this event the murals by Domenico Di Lucia and Pietro Anceschi (in art, respectively, Tricky and Stone) were inaugurated. The artists titled the series of murals "The Black Mamba" - tribute to Kobe Bryant and sport.

"The Black Mamba" is the nickname of the basketball legend: he himself identified with this definition referring to the longest venomous snake of the African continent. Metaphor to represent his way of playing but also his approach to life. The intent of the artists was to convey, through images and colour, the positive and dynamic energy of sport. On one of the walls appears a portrait of Kobe Bryant who, as the artists tell, «he turns to take a look at the observer of the painting. He is himself, he represents the hard fight against his own fears and limits in a continuous evolution of talent that was a characteristic of the character». Furthermore, on another wall dedicated to him, the artist can be seen in a crossover action towards the basket. The other walls have been dedicated to other sports: football, volleyball, gymnastics and skating.

We invite you to continue on via Guasco towards the Piazzetta (small square) dedicated to him and to the panels of the "Reggiano Forever" exhibition.

7. E SOM DAL GATTO

Centro sociale Gattaglio

The mural "E Som dal Gatto" was inaugurated in October 2022, created together with the inhabitants of the neighborhood. The work was made possible thanks to the synergy between local institutions and the private world, with the aim of redeveloping and regenerating a suburban space of the town, enriching it with meanings strongly connected with the life of the place.

Giulio Vesprini, one of the leading artists of the Fidenza Village StreetArt Festival, has reinterpreted this façade with colour elements and graphic structures that have clear references to the life of the Centro sociale (social centre): the yellow represents the walkway that connects the neighborhood to the Crostolo embankment, the round signs are a dedication to the game of bowls, the green and blue are the synthesis of nature and water present in the neighbourhood. The red, on the other hand, recalls the neighborhood Unity parties that were organized around the social centre. In this way, street art dialogues with the history and values ​​of this meeting place that unites the elderly and young people and no also constitutes a point of inclusion, thanks to the work of the Rigenera cooperative which supports disabled children with fun and music nights. In his works he always puts a word, and in this case the reference is to the place where the work is located, the Gattaglio district.

8. like it's raining

San Pellegrino-Marco Gerra Library

The work, made by the artists Castagnetti and Hang, is a reminder of the need for a rain of culture to regenerate the arid lands of ignorance. In the upper part, in a blue sky, a colourful little house made of books, inhabited by an owl (wisdom) and a cricket (conscience) levitates in mid-air above an arid land. Below them, on a poor and bare land, a donkey, a goose and a hen represent stupidity and ignorance. The two young artists teach us that culture and books are necessary to escape from stupidity and ignorance. Nothing more appropriate for a library wall!

9. NELSON MANDELA

Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa School

During the celebrations for the centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth, Daniele Castagnetti made the Ubuntu mural on the walls of the gymnasium of the "Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa" secondary school. Ubuntu is a philosophy, a method of thinking that celebrates the connection between people and peace among different peoples. Each picture is a letter expressed through sign language, and the hands symbolically depict the continents: by joining the 6 letters the word "Ubuntu" is formed. The mural also celebrates the deep friendship with Africa, particularly with Mozambique and South Africa: in fact, the area hosts the Oliver Tambo Peace Park, the monument to Giuseppe Soncini made with marble donated by the town of Pemba (Mozambique), Nelson Mandela Park, via Albert Luthuli, via Martiri di Soweto, Samora Machel Park and via Città di Pemba.

Rugby Field

Moving a little further on to the rugby field in via della Canalina, the mural by Pietro Anceschi depicts a man who is a symbol of the struggle for the affirmation of human rights, but also a great rugby fan: Nelson Mandela. The mural measures 3 metres in width and over 2 in height, and depicts Madiba at the centre of a blaze of colours. Reggio Emilia, in 1977, was the first institution in the world to take sides against the apartheid regime and is still now committed to countering racism and being more and more an open and welcoming town.

10. REGGIO LOVES YOU

Il Noce Park

Within a short time, several works dedicated to the basketball champion who grew up in Reggio Emilia appeared in the town. In the Il Noce park at the end of via della Canalina, near the busiest basketball court in the town, you can now admire the mural "Reggio loves you", the work of the local writer Fabio Valentini, known as Neko. Thanks to the initiative of the kids who animate noceplayground.re every day, the NBA champion who grew up in Reggio Emilia will be forever linked to a symbolic place for basketball players of all ages.

Kobe used to say about our town: “Why am I so fond of Reggio Emilia? Because I have so many special memories. Did you ever think that one of the best NBA players could grow up here? There is nothing further from Los Angeles. It means that every dream is possible.”

11. A MURAL for CAMEL!

Parco delle Caprette (Caprette Park)

Following the cycle/pedestrian path that runs alongside the Crostolo stream, we can admire another work that decorates a town park: the mural for Camillo, a mythical character for the Parco delle Caprette (Caprette Park), the favourite park of the local citizens of all ages. Arnaldo Motti known as Camél has taken care of the animals in the park for years, becoming a point of reference for all the boys and girls who attended it. The work was created by Fabio Valentini called Neko in 2022.

12. the BETTOLA massacre

Casa Bettola

Leaving the park, we take a short detour towards Casa Bettola, a self-managed roadman's house decorated with murals created by Pietro Anceschi and Guerrilla Spam. The first one depicts the only survivor of the Bettola massacre, one of the most heinous acts committed by the Nazi-fascists in Italy, during which on the night of San Giovanni 1944 32 civilians and 3 partisans died. In the second one, in addition to the creatures of the forest, are figures from the resistant history of Reggio Emilia: the partisan commander Sirio - Paride Allegri - who plants trees and the tractor of the Cervi brothers with the globe plowing the land.

Usciti dal parco, facciamo una breve deviazione verso a Casa Bettola, una casa cantoniera autogestita decorata dai murales realizzati da Pietro Anceschi e da Guerrilla Spam. Il primo raffigura l'unica superstite dell'eccidio della Bettola, uno dei più efferati atti compiuti dai nazifascisti in Italia, durante il quale nella notte di San Giovanni del 1944 persero la vita 32 civili e 3 partigiani. Nel secondo, oltre alle creature della foresta, si trovano figure della storia resistente di Reggio Emilia: il comandante partigiano Sirio - Paride Allegri - che pianta alberi e il trattore dei fratelli Cervi con il mappamondo che ara la terra.

13. CURIOSA MERAVIGLIOSA (curious wonderful)

Museums Palace

Returning to the town centre, we cannot fail to stop at the Museums Palace, to admire a wonderful collective work designed to be admired by the community. An always visible work like the murals, which decorate the external façade of the museum, and a collective work because it was created thanks to the contribution of the local citizens.

Curiosa Meravigliosa is a photomosaic made up of over 12,000 shots collected by the artist Joan Fontcuberta together with images from the museum collections: the photos, printed on ceramic tiles, make up an imposing peacock. A must for anyone visiting the town!

14. first ITALIAN mural

Vicolo Venezia

From the Museums Palace, take via Secchi to the crossroads with via Roma, the cardo of the town. This street, very important for the Romans, is now half aristocratic: the other half, the one leading to the ancient Porta Santa Croce, is popular. In a small side street (Vicolo Venezia) you can still read a faded writing on the wall "The Righteous People wants snow". It is thought to have been made around the 1940s and a couple of meanings are attributed to it.

This area of ​​the town is where the so-called Popol Giost once lived, i.e. the poor part of the population who made a living with gimmicks and odd jobs, including shoveling snow: one of the two meanings of the writing is exactly linked to the fact that the Righteous People waited for the snow so as to work a little and thus earn some money. The other meaning of the writing is more political: it is thought to be sort of a coded message where snow means the end of the fascist regime.

15. two-faced janus

Via Candelù

Travelling along the cycle path that connects the town to the Mediopadana High-Speed Railway Station, we come across a neighborhood recently redeveloped with murals. The work called August 2, 1980 was made by the artist PsikoPlanet on the façade of a building of the Mancasale and Coviolo cooperative and was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the attack. The "ribbon cutting" took place at the same time as the inauguration of two other murals, in Bologna and Parma (by Collettivo FX and Alessandro Canu) also dedicated to the victims of the massacre and promoted as part of the "Lost&found 1980-2020" project. Private and collective memories 40 years later": a public art tour on the attack of August 2 that crosses streets and squares with the works of young artists, all born after 1980, and which aims to create a mural in every province of Emilia Romagna. The mural is located in the popular district of via Gramsci in Reggio Emilia and has the face of a two-faced Janus, to represent the two faces of the State: the positive one (procedural truths and search for justice), and the "dark" one (deviated power, shadow behind the instigators). “I hope that whoever sees this work will stop and reflect - explained the artist - , wonder about what it represents, find out about the massacre and about those years.”

16. REGGIo emilia partisan

Casa Manfredi

We rejoin the Crostolo stream cycle/pedestrian path to the north. Right next to the motorway is the home of the Manfredi Brothers, a symbol of anti-fascism, a fugitive house and a base of the Resistance for young partisans. The historical journey of Casa Manfredi, the only partisan house in the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, began with the reopening in 2019, and September 27, 2020 the large mural work of street art "Reggio Emilia Partisan" was inaugurated, created by Fabio Valentini called Neko and Marco Temperilli called Maik. The work, wanted by Istoreco in collaboration with Anpi and the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, wants to pay homage to the memory of the Martyrs for the Resistance belonging to the Manfredi and Miselli families of Villa Sesso, becoming a "new gateway" of the town, also visible from those travelling on the A1 motorway, assuming a strong "distinctive mark" and historical memory.

IN the province

Correggio
Two works on the Resistance in the Correggio Memory Park
The large mural dedicated to the Resistance was recently inaugurated in the Casa nel Parco in Correggio, with two works by Vera Bugatti on a partisan relay and an illegal printing house: 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙢 (on the small wall of the Casa nel Parco) and The overturned fields on the large wall) both inspired by the 1997 documentary "Partisans" and by the sources of the Correggio Anpi archive. The latter portrays Iva Montecchi, a partisan relay who lived in Correggio. After a night of interrogation and torture she was freed and returned home through the fields. An excruciating and poetic epiphany: she was so upset that even the outside world had completely turned upside down.

Novellara
A Mural for Augusto Daolio, historical leader of the Nomadi band, was made during the Nomadi Festival by the Paduan artist Alessio B in 2019. A dreamy image of Augusto, who died in 1992, to remember the singer of one of the most important bands in the history of Italian music.

Cavriago
Ex Cremeria
In 2016 the Sofàr Festival, organized by the Cavriago Circolo Kessel, brought some talented street artists to this small town in the province of Reggio Emilia, such as Nemo's, Mister Dada and Astro Naut.

Trinità
Street Art Festival
Moving to the hills of the Reggio Emilia Apennines to Trinità di Canossa, it is possible to come across dozens of masonry interventions made during the Street Art Festival. A project born from an idea of ​​Collettivo FX and the Whats Association which led to the decision of artists to deal with stables, barns, taverns, cisterns, houses and dairies but above all with the people of those territories. Each work has its own story: the eyes of a farmer, homages and references to animals, nature, rural life, scenes of the village's daily life. The small towns of the Reggio Emilia hills (in addition to Trinità are Selva, Selvapiana, Monchio delle Olle, Pardella, Vedriano and Albareto) have thus appeared in the maps of international street art thanks to the interventions of artists including: Astro Naut | Well Slow | Bibted | Fx Collective | Gases | Hundun Gorge | James Kalinda | Juliet XLf | Neko | Otto Grozni | Psycho Patik | Random | Rev+ | Mrs. K | Zibe.