Graniti Murales Cristina Paffumi
Museum | Graniti | Sicily | Italy
The Graniti Murales in Graniti, Sicily, is a remarkable art project that has transformed the streets of the small village into an open-air museum. Since 2017, international artists have created over 40 murals reflecting the cultural heritage and history of the region.
One outstanding work within this project is the mural by Maria Cristina Paffumi, a Sicilian artist who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania. She specializes in oil painting and has exhibited her works in Taormina, among other places. In Graniti, she created a delicate mural within a week, depicting the historical Graniti. Inspired by rare historical photographs, it shows women from the village carrying traditional jugs on their heads as they walk along the street in front of the mother church, with some men admiring them. Paffumi explained that she tried to freeze time and immortalize a typical village scene from many decades ago, when life was simple, perhaps marked by hardships, but rich in human values and traditions. She sees the artwork as a "bridge" between the past, present, and future.
This mural is located on the exterior wall of a private building in close proximity to the mother church, the same location depicted in the painting. This allows the viewer to connect the present with the depicted past, supported by the skillfully created "sepia effect" of the painting.
The Graniti Murales project has not only beautified the appearance of the village, but also enriched its cultural life and increased interest in Graniti as a tourist destination. It offers a unique opportunity to experience art and history in a vibrant context.
