Calabria is a land of marvellous colour that ranging from the different shades of blue of the sea to the green of its uncontaminated nature, from the red of its chillies to the yellow of its shining sun. Such a beautiful colour palette could only provide inspiration for great street art artists to create beautiful murals, masterpieces of graphic art to be discovered!
Diamante is like a maiden lying on the beach with her feet towards the hills; a maiden with seaweed hair, her noses quivering like sails in the sea breeze, the smell of saltiness; a girl who abandons herself to the kiss of the wave and the embrace of the swell, which covers her up to the ankles with its dust in a long silky and impalpable mantle; a girl who trembles with love under the sun, who faints with love in the sweetness of the warm and starry nights or those whitened by the moon
The history of Italy's most painted town
Diamante is a beautiful town on the Calabrian coast, directly on the Tyrrhenian Sea, along the famous Riviera dei Cedri. This town, as its name suggests, is a real jewel of southern Italy: beaches of soft white sand, fishermen's houses, sheer cliffs, the blue waters of the Mediterranean, delicious (and very spicy!) food and surrounded by lush nature.
In recent years Diamante has become one of the most popular tourist resorts in Calabria. Walking through the old town centre everywhere you can see the sea, either from the terraces or peeking through the glimpses created by the houses: this feature is much appreciated by tourists, as there are many villages in Calabria perched on hills and far from the sea, due to the fact that in the past this was an area of pirate raids and building the towns on the hills was easier to defend. In Diamante, on the other hand, you can breathe in the scent of salt directly from the Mediterranean.
Diamante is a village rich in traditions, and the inhabitants are happy to be able to recall the link between their past and their present through a series of events such as the procession of the Passion of Christ, which ends in front of a Calvary overlooking the sea opposite the island of Cirella; the event Calici sotto le Stelle (Goblets under the Stars), where you can taste the local wine "Chiarello" and all the other regional wine labels; and in September, the most important fair in the area, the "Peperoncino Festival" (Festival of hot chilli peppers), a unique event in Italy.
If nature and tradition were not enough, man's genius and creativity have also been added to create beauty and wonder: Diamante is now known as "the most painted town in Italy" thanks to a great work of street art that has been going on for 40 years.
In 1981, thanks to the genius of the painter Nani Razetti, an ambitious artistic project called 'Operation Murales' was launched, involving more than 80 Italian and foreign painters with the aim of painting the walls of the houses in the historic centre of Diamante. Today the number of works of art that can be admired in the streets of Diamante is 200, an incredible amount of beauty that has transformed the face of the town, making it a true work of art overlooking the sea.
Diamante's murals: The mosaic...
Located in Via Alfieri, this splendid art work tells the history of Calabria, from the discovery of the graffito of the "Bull of Papasidero" to today's agricultural and fishing civilisation. The work was created by Michele and Angiolina Sposito of Ferrara.
Calabria has breasts and not ports, so the very long line of its coastline is traversed more by fishermen than by sailors.
Maritime-themed murals
Its geographical position overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea can only stimulate the imagination towards everything related to maritime life, so many murals depict themes related to the sea: from fishermen returning with their boats, to sea location and fish.
The people of these countries are tactful and courteous in a way that can only be explained by the fact that civilisation here was once Greek.
The faces of Diamante
You will come across many painted faces along the streets of Diamante: on the walls of the houses, not only choral scenes but also distinct personalities linked to the world of fantasy or reality come to life, ranging from everyday social themes to the imagination that transports us to a distant world of fairy tales and dreams.
Pop art is a way of loving things
Pop Art
Various art works in homage to pop-art are peeping out of the houses in Diamante, ranging from cartoon themes to more classical ones: a touch of internationality that is very well-chosen and of great visual impact
I don't think about art when I work. I try to think about life.
The new murals 2021: from Basquiat...
To celebrate forty years since the start of the "Operation Murales" project, the city of Diamante has welcomed four new art works of great impact and beauty. The first is Jorit's hyper-realistic work dedicated to Basquiat on the occasion of the thirty-third anniversary of his death.
First I dream my paintings, then I paint my dreams
...a world of dreams...
The artist Tony Gallo develops the oneiric style by drawing us into a fantastic and colourful world with anthropomorphic subjects that wink at the world of comics.
Life and death intertwine like the two snakes of Mercury's caduceus
...Mercury, the messenger of the Gods...
The artist Kraser has decided to play with the contrast between neoclassical forms, choosing Mercury, the messenger of the gods, as his subject, and placing him in a context of very modern psychedelic colours.
Not everything from our past becomes tradition, but only what is useful today
...the beauty of tradition.
Ste-real has decided to use his art to pay homage to Calabrian traditions, in particular the peasant custom of weaving chillies. The chilli pepper is in fact one of the best known products of the town of Diamante, which every year organises a fun and spicy "Peperoncino Festival".
