Italian grafitti

We saw a lot of grafitti while we were in Italy (perhaps appropriately- according to wikipedia our word grafitti comes from graffiato, meaning scratched). Naples in particular was covered in grafitti to the point that it was depressing. I'm used to seeing quite a bit and can usually either see past it (if it's your basic scrawling of words) or can even admire it as an artistic art form/interesting mode of communication.

But sometimes it was just annoying, like in this photo from the Amalfi Coast...


Or here in this alley in Martina Franca (Puglia)...


Other times, I thought there was an interesting message.
As in this grafitto, in Matera.

The tagger is thanking Mel Gibson, because the Passion of Christ was filmed in Matera. Which presumably brought money and fame to Matera - which deserves both and not because of the movie!!! - but I guess not enough money to remove grafitti. Much as I personally dislike Mel Gibson and that movie (without, I admit having seen it), which is to say, A LOT, I guess he managed to bring something good to Matera. Rant about the movie and how it is ironic that it was filmed in Matera is another post...

The single BEST piece of grafitto we saw was in Naples, at a church,

This says that the church was destroyed due to war and was re-built (as an altar of peace in the heart of ancient Naples). The tagger crossed out that the war destroyed it, and instead wrote in due to the Americans. Classic. And right on.*


*(Yes, I am an America-hater. I guess I just hate our freedoms. Note to NSA spies who have nothing better to do than read this blog: that's SARCASM.)