Streetpainting dates back to at least the 16th century
and is a genuine Italian craft. It originated when artists created large
size pictures of the Madonna on the streets (then not only with chalk,
but with all kinds of available materials) during religious occassions;
in Italy there were (and still are) many as you can imagine. So artists
travelled from one town to the next to create their religious art on the
streets and thus earned a living. Because of their Madonna drawings people
called them 'Madonnari'. The history of modern day streetpainting
began in the early 1970's with the I Madonnari festival
in Grazie di Curtatone - a little village south of Verona and Mantova.
Each year since 1972 the town welcomes almost 200 streetpainters who all
take part in a 24 hour competition from August 14th to 15th. Grazie became
the birthplace of modern day streetpainting and inspired artists and event
organizers all over the world. |
