Naples is full of graffiti. From the historic center to the suburbs, there are dozens of murals, by well-known or unknown artists, which address political, religious or sporting issues, thus giving a wild beauty to one of the most special cities one can encounter in Italy.
Of course, those graffiti dedicated to Diego Maradona, who was adored as much as anyone else in this place, could not be missing from these graffiti. Here is a list of football murals that anyone visiting Napoli can see up close:
1. The giant graffiti at San Giovanni a Teduccio
This particular mural of Maradona is, by far, the most impressive that one can find in the city. The work of art is located in San Giovanni a Teduccio, one of the most industrialized areas of Naples, with a long tradition in canning factories, including Cirio, one of the group’s main sponsors during the heyday.
Access to the area is easy by train, and the journey takes about 30 minutes from Naples Central Station. The route from the landing station to the mural is very beautiful, as around you there are impressive apartment buildings with balconies full of flowers and neighbourhood shops that sell local products.
The sketch depicts Maradona, during his tenure as coach of the Argentine national team, and his size is so large that it is awe-inspiring.
The mural was created in 2017 by 31-year-old Neapolitan artist Jorit, whose works have been exhibited in some of the world’s largest cities, including Buenos Aires, New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Santiago. In fact, part of the money for its creation was donated by Hamsik, one of the most beloved football players who have passed through the city.
The spot is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area, as hundreds of tourists visit the spot to admire the graffiti. The precision with which it was designed even impressed Maradona himself, who posted in 2017 on his profile: “Thank you Jorit! Thank you Napoli! We are a special human caste. The red marks on the face symbolize this reasoning”.
In the surrounding apartment buildings there are Napoli flags everywhere, while just opposite it is a small cafe, where you can relax and drink your coffee, overlooking the brutal graffiti.
2. The famous graffiti in the “temple” of Maradona
In the Spanish Quarter of Naples and very close to Via Toledo, is Maradona’s most famous graffiti. The site, after the death of Argentina, has been turned into a place of worship, as hundreds of tourists and locals arrive at the site to leave a flower in his memory.
The graffiti was created in 1990, after the conquest of the second Scudetto by Napoli and remained as it was until 2016, when it underwent some modifications. The most important of these was the redesign of Maradona’s face by the Argentine Francisco Bosoletti, so that it closely resembles that of Diego, during the years he played in the Italian championship.
There used to be a car park at its base, however, today there is a multipurpose space where one can admire the murals, graffiti, T-shirts and the iconostasis of Maradona, have a drink at the tables placed on the small square and buy souvenirs.
3. The frescoes in Vico Lungo del Gelso
Descending from “Maradona Square” to Toledo Street, the visitor will fall on two very beautiful works of art. The first is a ceramic mosaic in which Maradona is seen wearing the Napoli jersey with the number 10.
Next to it is embroidered “Ho Visto Maradona” which means in English “I have seen Maradona” and is one of the most famous slogans of the Neapolitans during the years of great prosperity of the team.
To his left is a black-and-white Maradona graffiti depicting him playing with the ball and nodding his head during a warm-up. The scene is from a 1987 match and is quite reminiscent of the famous video in which Maradona makes a mess at the Olympic Stadium in Munich to the sounds of “Live is life”.
4. The graffiti on the gate
The fourth graffiti on the list is located in the historic city center. The work has been painted on an iron door, and it is one of the most recent graffiti created for him, as it was designed after his death. In this mural, Maradona is depicted with a halo hovering over the sky of Naples and looking
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