Sten Lex's 'Varco' Mural Opens New Chapter for Gibellina's Utopian Art Legacy

In Gibellina Nuova, the Sicilian town rebuilt after the 1968 Belice Valley earthquake, the street art duo Sten Lex have created a new public mural titled 'Varco' (2016). The work is part of 'DeviAzioni – Gibellina Urban Art', a project initiated by the city's young culture councillor Giuseppe Zummo to revive the town's utopian art experiment. Gibellina's original reconstruction, led by former mayor Ludovico Corrao, turned the town into an open-air museum with works by artists like Alberto Burri, Pietro Consagra, and Mimmo Paladino. However, the project faced criticism for prioritizing art over public services, leading to abandonment and depopulation. Sten Lex's mural, inspired by the local artistic heritage (Dorazio, Rotella, Consagra, Burri, Accardi), uses their signature stencil-poster technique to create an abstract composition that opens a visual breach toward Consagra's unfinished theater. The intervention aims to re-engage the community through contemporary, sustainable art practices.