The writer who covers the fascist murals with food

Fighting hate and racism with so much joyful fantasy is possible. The artist and writer Pier Paolo Spinazzè, known as CIBO, has been doing this for over ten years: he cleans the walls of his city, Verona, and of the province from swastikas, Celtic crosses and hate messages, covering them with pasta, pizza, fruit, biscuits, desserts and many other colorful and delicious dishes. In a period of deep-rooted and worrying rebirth of extreme right-wing ideology and policies marked by intolerance, tells the thirty-year-old Venetian,

"An artist has the duty to give his civic contribution, mine is to erase the fascist writings and symbols from the walls, and since Verona is my gallery, I want my gallery to be cleaned of hatred".

It all started a few years ago with the words "Tito boia" written on the wall of a house in Campagnola di Zevio canceled with a frankfurter which, once again covered with hate symbols, has been reorganized by spreading sauces. This is how the adventure of CIBO started, its way of combating malice and ignorance, without offense and without anger, bringing lively images of Italian cuisine on buildings and along the motorways. Although aware of the temporality of his speeches and despite having received daily threats for his work from the far right, the writer is determined to continue this form of expression that allows him to convey important messages to a large audience and hopes to be a example for other artists.

A fun fact: in his murals CIBO seeks to be territorial and seasonal, as revealed repubblica.it "Each territory has its products and its excellence. If they are in the land of asparagus, asparagus design to cover Celtic crosses and written" dux " The same applies to fish, polenta and grapes".