Orticanoodles Unveils Mural for Dario Fo and Franca Rame in Milan

On March 23, 2017, the street art collective Orticanoodles completed a 300-square-meter mural on the exterior wall of the Scuola civica di teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan, honoring Nobel Prize-winning playwright Dario Fo and his wife Franca Rame, who died in 2016 and 2013 respectively. The work was commissioned by the Municipality of Milan, strongly supported by Paola Bocci, president of the Culture Commission, and realized with the Fondazione Arrigo e Pia Pini and Fondazione Milano. Young volunteers from school-work alternation programs and 20 adolescents aged 16–18 recruited through B-Live, a project by Fondazione Near for young people with chronic illnesses, assisted in the execution. The mural features close-up portraits of Fo and Rame, with Fo's restless eyes and sly smile, Rame's round glasses and gentle yet stern expression, interspersed with author quotes and fluid geometric patterns. This follows Orticanoodles' 2014 frieze in central Milan depicting 12 cultural figures including Ornella Vanoni, Enzo Jannacci, Giorgio Strehler, Giorgio Gaber, Mariangela Melato, and Alda Merini. The collective's style employs flat, contrasting colors and essential chromatic structures to create light, shadow, and volume.