Lucamaleonte's 'Lupus in muta' Mural Celebrates Biodiversity in Rome

In late September 2021, street artist Lucamaleonte completed a new mural titled 'Lupus in muta' on the facade of IC Borgoncini Duca – Plesso 'Via G. Manetti' in Rome, a school complex for primary and secondary students. The work depicts a gray-blue wolf emerging from a sea of red foxes, symbolizing diversity as richness. The mural is part of the Urban Creativity 2021 initiative of Municipio XIII, curated by Tiziano Tancredi and Sandro Guarino, president of the Villa Carpegna association. The title 'Lupus in muta' plays on the Latin phrase 'lupus in fabula' (the wolf in the story) and combines the scientific names of the wolf (Canis lupus) and the white partridge (Lagopus muta), a rare alpine bird found above 1,800 meters. The partridge's plumage changes from white in winter to gray-brown in spring and summer, and its call resembles a croak, hence 'muta' (mute). A second mural featuring the white partridge surrounded by robins is planned for the facade of the nursery school 'I Cuccioli di via Silveri.' Curator Tiziano Tancredi stated that the goal of public art is to identify the genius loci of a place—in this case, inhabited by children—and multiply its visual diffusion. The diptych linking a primary and middle school with a nursery school aims to underscore the importance of a culture of visual learning from an early age.