Street Art Revitalizes Historic Arbëreshë Village in Calabria

Ylberi, an urban renewal project in Santa Sofia d’Epiro, Calabria, concluded its third edition, bringing five international street artists to reinterpret the local Arbëreshë culture. The project, a collaboration between the municipality and the association Rublanum (which runs the Gulìa Urbana initiative since 2012), aims to share Arbëreshë values through contemporary art. Swedish artist Yash created 'Moonlight Farmer,' celebrating agriculture and the choice to live life as desired, inspired by reports that farmers report high happiness levels. Italian artist Antonino Perrotta (Attorrep) paid homage to Calabrian rural life and traditions. The duo Nati Andreoli and Lina Castellanos (Dùo Amazonas) painted an elderly woman in traditional Sofioti attire. Spanish artist Kraser, known for reinterpreting classical sculptures, adorned a school wall with the Riace bronzes to mark the anniversary of their discovery. This year, Ylberi also expanded into photography, involving Giuseppe Palmisano, who, with the folk group Shqiponjat, worked on a new chapter of his project 'Vuoto,' aiming to transform the entire Arbëreshë women's community into art.