City launches Murales project in Piazza Venezia.

Rome has transformed the giant silos at the Metro C construction site in Piazza Venezia into an open-air art gallery as part of the Murales project launched on Monday.

Pietro Ruffo is the first of six contemporary artists whose work will be displayed on the towering silos which blot out the view of the Vittoriano and offer a surface area of 700 square metres.

Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri inaugurated the project with the unveiling of Ruffo's Costellazioni di Roma, a blue and white mural that recalls constellations and legends associated with the city.

Ruffo, whose work is currently the focus of a major exhibition in Rome, said that creating a site-specific work in Piazza Venezia was a chance to "leave a trace in the historic fabric of this city".

Work in progress: Rome’s giant Metro C silos in Piazza Venezia are set to be transformed by celebrated Roman artist Pietro Ruffo. pic.twitter.com/EeEsfD2VVp

— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) December 15, 2024

The Murales scheme, promoted by the Metro C consortium led by Webuild and Vianini Lavori, aims to use the silos as an innovative platform to exhibit artwork by renowned contemporary artists.

The project invites viewers to reflect on the "evolutionary nature of cities and the transformative role of infrastructure projects for a new model of a people-oriented city", according to Rome's website.

"The construction site in Piazza Venezia is a challenge and an inconvenience but it is also an opportunity" - Gualtieri said - "We thought it right for Rome to seize this opportunity to show the best of contemporary art".

Every four months, the silos of the Piazza Venezia construction site will host rotating new works by six artists who will be invited to interpret the concept of urban transformation.

After Ruffo, the next artist will be Elisabetta Benassi, followed by Liliana Moro, Marinella Senatore, Toiletpaper and Nico Vascellari, who will each take turns until December 2026.

Photo WeBuild