The Odyssey on the walls of Borgo Palazzo

We find ourselves in the district of Borgo Palazzo, where walls have morphed into a colossal canvas, adorned with the riveting adventures of Ulysses, the protagonist of the Odyssey—an epic poem penned by the ancient Greek bard, Homer.

This superlative artistic endeavor is a yield of participative street art, conceived and propagated by the "Città di Bergamo" Foundation and the "Muro Temporaneo" Association, and supported by the Municipality of Bergamo. Through a concomitant creative process, artists, residents, and students combined their energies to birth a singular and engrossing artwork, celebrating the intertwinement of art, literature, and community.

The exploits of Ulysses, narrated in the Odyssey's twenty-four canticles, unfurl across the walls of Borgo Palazzo. They proffer to the passerby a synoptic traverse through the pivotal landmarks of his odyssey. Each tableau has been meticulously designed and executed by an ensemble of artists, laboring in symbiosis with the district's inhabitants, thereby rendering the artwork a veritable microcosm of the hosting community. The vivacious palette and sinuous linework of the depictions magnetize the onlooker, inviting them to pause and immerse themselves in the heroic tapestry of Ulysses' feats.

The selection of the Odyssey as the mural's theme is far from serendipitous: on one hand, Homer's magnum opus is an indomitable classic of universal literature, invulnerable to the erosive flow of time and ceaselessly inspiring generations of artists and writers; on the other hand, Ulysses' journey is a leitmotif of resilience and surmounting hardships, congruent with the history and identity of Borgo Palazzo and its residents.