The Mayor of Vigonza, near Padua [Veneto] has come up with an original idea for dealing with graffiti writers: he intends to make them replicate their graffiti on the walls of their own homes for a month, as well as paying a hefty fine. This, he believes, will cause the graffiti writers to think twice before using their spray cans on public buildings.
Mayor Nunzio Tacchetto and his colleagues are drawing up the regulation at the moment and they are also planning to offer rewards to citizens who report graffiti writers to the police. Recently the town’s railway station was badly defaced and the cost to the community has been high.
Graffiti are a major problem in most Italian cities in and many young people see them as a form of art or free expression. As in other countries, they are sometimes used as “tags” to mark the territory of certain gangs. Under the security bill passed in Italy recently – the same law that tightened controls on illegal immigrants – fines of up to 3,000 euros can now be imposed on graffiti writers who practise their “art” on public buildings or monuments. The perpetrators can also be jailed for up to one year.
Yet graffiti have existed since ancient times and some interesting examples have been found at Pompeii. Therefore today’s graffiti writers could claim to be in good company.
Are graffiti an art form or vandalism? Do you think the Mayor’s idea will work?
