Turning Hate Graffiti Into Food Murals

The number of reported hate crimes in Italy has steadily risen since 2014, fuelled by populist politicians reacting to an influx of refugees and migrants. In Verona, Pier Paolo Spinazzé, a street artist who goes by the name Cibo (Italian for ‘food’), is being celebrated for his creative countermeasures. “Verona is beautiful,” says Spinazzé, “but it has a big problem with the far right.” Whenever he encounters swastikas and other racist graffiti, he paints over them with colourful depictions of his favourite foods, from cupcakes to pizza. Extremists often spray paint over Spinazzé’s cheerful food pictures, but he simply paints over their hateful messages again, and they usually give up. His art is also awakening locals to the seriousness of the problem. “People were so used to those messages that they didn’t really see them. Now people are starting to understand.”