Home Away From Home
Did you ever visit a place and your first experience was so familiar, like you had been there before? Or even better, that you had always been there.
Sounds like a strange thing to say, I know. But this is how I truly feel about Rome and in particular about where I live in a neighborhood called Pigneto.
Via Ettore Giovenale, Pigneto
40 x 35cm
Oil on Linen
SOLD
One of Rome’s most popular working class neighborhoods is also home to a wide variety of local characters.
Painting out on the street is always a real treat, as I get to meet these characters one by one.
My most recent encounter was with the local legend nicknamed Tarzanino or “little Tarzan”. Now, I know you’ll be greatly disappointed by the fact that I did not get around to asking him just how he got that nickname, but he had other stories to tell this day. His story was mostly about how he worked closely in directing films here in the neighborhood with Italy’s most beloved Pasolini. He was also quite shocked that I had not heard of him seeing as in his mind he is famous.
He also told me how much the neighborhood has changed. Once upon a time this was a borgata or working class suburb, but now all the trendy rich folks have moved in, they think it’s the place to be. He also said that back in the day if you weren’t from this neighborhood the locals wouldn’t let you in. It wasn’t the kind of place that you went exploring in or out for a drink with friends.
This painting, done in the heart of Pigneto, was intended to recall the light, feel and distinct colors of this place. The pine trees dotted in between the streets and just at the edge of a little triangular park are the landmarks of this place.