Giulio Vesprini transforms Milan skate park into public artwork

On May 6, 2024, urban artist Giulio Vesprini (born 1980 in Civitanova Marche) unveiled Gratosoglio-G0073, a pavement artwork at the Gratosoglio skate park in Milan's Zone 5. The work, located at via Saponaro 22, covers the curved and flat surfaces of the skate bowl, using colors sampled from the surrounding landscape. Vesprini designed the piece to differentiate flat areas with broad color fields from curved areas with denser graphic lines, aiding orientation within the bowl. The project involved collaboration with the local skater collective GTA and the association Street is Culture. It is part of Vesprini's ongoing research into abstract and horizontal landscapes, and marks his first public artwork in Milan. The skate park, originally inaugurated in 2015 as part of a micro-urban regeneration project, includes a green area and children's play space. The work was supported by Fondazione Claudio De Albertis (established by Borio Mangiarotti) and Fondazione di Comunità Milano, under the initiative Un nome in ogni quartiere, which promotes participatory public art in central and peripheral Milan neighborhoods, in partnership with Milano&Partners and the Ufficio Arte negli Spazi Pubblici of the Comune di Milano.