There is a fascinating and alternative way to discover Romagna: "going hunting" for its murals! An increasingly widespread kind of street art, to be transformed into an artistic journey en plein air.
This day tour leads to the discovery of the wall art of the Rimini Riviera in 3 different towns.
It starts from a seaside town, Bellaria, continues south to arrive at the Hamlet of San Giuliano, largely devoted to the genius of Fellini, and then ends up in the hills, in Saludecio, a hamlet fully registered in the Italian Association of Painted Villages.
The seaside town of Bellaria, born as a fishing hamlet, witnessed the appearance of its first murals in 1994, and still today there are many alleys and buildings colored by fine graffiti art. Let's take a look at the most recent.
In 2020 Gola Hundun, born in Bellaria, created a large painting on the front facade of the Tourist Building. The work speaks of the sea, in complete harmony with the origins of the town, and is entitled "Effects of unconscious action"; it is an invitation to reflect on the value of the sea and calls for a change in lifestyles.
In 2021 with the "Bim Street Art Festival - The walls you don't expect" 5 works of wall painting were added to the facades of the historic town center:
The Hamlet of San Giuliano is "Fellini’s village" par excellence: walking along its alleys, you can breathe the typical atmosphere of the great master's films. The genius and creativity of Federico Fellini is also remembered in the numerous murals that color the houses of this place that was loved so much by Fellini: here you can find numerous works that recall the director or the most iconic characters of his films.
The history of these murals dates back to the 1980s, responding to the need to embellish the houses of the hamlet that were in a state of decay; today it is one of the most famous and beautiful corners of the town of Rimini, thanks also to the numerous cafés overlooking the Ponte di Tiberio, which have given new life and sociality to this place.
Some of the murals of San Giuliano are the work of famous artists. Among the most recent, mention should be made of the mural created by Agim Sulaj, an entire wall depicting Fellini and his characters, or "Fellini’s grandfather" coming out of the fog by Kiril Cholakov.
Saludecio is a medieval hamlet located about thirty kilometers from Rimini, on the hills of Valconca.
The landscape here is made up of softly shaped hills, scattered houses, farms, vineyards and cultivated fields where there is evidence of the power struggles between the Malatesta and Montefeltro families as early as 1014.
But alongside this ancient history, today we can have the experience of admiring also a more modern form of art as well. Saludecio murals were created by ARPERC artists who decorated the walls of the houses with works of art devoted to the discoveries and inventions of the 19th century.
Among the drawings depicted in the murals are the birth of cinema, photography, ecology, the razor blade, toilet paper, comics, suspenders, Pizza Margherita, and the tutù.
To date, a map of the murals is not available, but this makes the hunt for street art in the village even more stimulating, and each discovery becomes almost a competition to see who can find - and photograph – a greater number of them!
