Travels in Italy--Bolzano (Part 4 of 4)

Our visit to Bolzano continues.

 

Bolzano is a very clean city relative to other cities in Italy.  We suppose civic pride and Austrian heritage have something to do with that. 

We did not notice abandoned buildings, trash in the streets or graffiti in the town.  We did notice buildings with recently painted facades and well-manicured flower beds.  Even the outdoor food market in the center of town was neat and clean.  Greg jokingly asked the guide whether we had left Italy and crossed the border into Austria. 

A well-stocked, well-organized stall in the central market in Bolzano

Of course, we are not judging whether Bolzano and its residents are better than towns and people elsewhere in Italy.  We are simply observing that Italy is a varied tapestry of experiences worth seeing and appreciating.

While we did not see graffiti or street art in the center of Bolazano, we spotted a collection of street art on the outskirts of Bolzano.  Unlike street art in Florence and elsewhere in Italy, the street art in Bolzano was well-organized, not randomly and illegally placed here and there.  A long wall in an industrial area of Bolzano was painted with a series of large murals.  We guessed that the murals were the result of a sanctioned project to decorate the long wall.  Photographs of some of the murals appear below. 

We enjoyed viewing Bolazno's street art.  Still, we couldn't help wonder whether the controlled location and perhaps curated content impaired the artists' free expression.  We hope not.  After all, street art is fundamentally a rejection of society's control of art, allowing artists unfettered access to the public. 

Thanks for joining our visit to Bolzano.