Title: Briganti
Location: Acquaviva delle Fonti, Italy
Artist: Luis Gomez de Teran
For: Comune di Acquaviva delle Fonti
Video: WATCH
Year: 2023
Photo Credits: Luis Gomez de Teran
“This piece is a tribute to the work of Antonio Lucarelli, an Italian historian born in this small southern town, Acquaviva delle fonti, at the end of XIX century.
One of the few historians who took the risk of documenting the deeds of the “briganti”, outlaws who rebelled against the king and his army during the years of Italian unification.
In his books he explains their reasons and shows the process that brought normal people to take the arms and become outlaws, when their territories were occupied and their people oppressed.
Lucarelli doesn’t indulge on their behaviour, but gives back a new, more complex and complete point of view on a social phenomenon that has always been labelled as a nothing more than a bunch of violent criminals by the historical books of the regime.
Those books that are usually written by the winners, for the winners.
A special thanks to the coolest mayor I know Davide Carlucci who allowed me to freely express my interpretation of Lucarelli’s work, by defacing the portrait of king Vittorio Emanuele II in his full uniform, and replacing his torn face with the portrait of one famous brigante, known as Sergente Romano, holding his rifle. A mayor who’s not scared of the power of street art is a rare treasure.”
Luis Gomez de Teran
USEFUL LINKS:
Luis Gomez de Teran in this blog | Instagram | Facebook fan page
Categories: OperArt, Street art
Barbara Picci 