– credit Luciano Magaldi Sardella via SWNS

A southern Italian hamlet referred to as a ghost town is now attracting thousands of tourists by commissioning artists to paint more than 140 murals on the sites of shops and homes.

It seems fitting that the birthplace of so many of the world’s great artists should leverage painting as a means of recovery—why should Rome and Florence have all the beauty?

Stornara, in the Puglia region has suffered from a fate befalling many towns in Italy. A generation experiencing rising standards of living had fewer children, and those children, now grown up, are moving to the cities, leaving the small towns “crumbling” in their absence.

Local artist Lino Lombardi grew frustrated to see his hometown crumbling around him and became determined to make it a destination worth visiting.

In 2017 he created Stramurales, an annual street art festival that sees artists from around the world come to paint murals in the town. Six of the now 140 vibrant murals were created at the first festival in 2018, and now thousands of people visit every year.

Revenue through tourism has increased by 25% since 2020, and eight new businesses have opened, including two restaurants, three B&Bs, and an art-supplies shop. More importantly than a temporary tourist-season boom, the town’s population has stopped declining and begun to grow again as young families move back, locals say.

– credit Luciano Magaldi Sardella via SWNS

“Suddenly there were loads of people turning up with cameras and guidebooks,” remembered Antonio Maglione, who had been on the brink of closing a cafe he owns in the town. “I had to quickly learn to say ‘welcome’ in five different languages.”

“The murals saved my business, but more than that, they saved our community.”

That sense of provincial entrapment is powerful in Italy, and 45-year-old Rita Gensano spared no mercy for her home when speaking with Britain’s Southwest News Service about returning in 2017 to look after her parents, having previously lived in Turin for 20 years.

“When I first returned it felt like a sacrifice, it was like walking into a ghost town,” said Gensano, now a local tour guide. “I had left it full of life and laughter but when I returned it felt like it was dying.”

“But actually it has become something extraordinary which I have been fortunate to be a part of.”

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Other struggling towns have appealed for help from organizers following Stornara’s success.

“Our community has painted itself back to life, one wall at a time,” Lombardi, 57, told SWNS. “At first people thought I was crazy, but I couldn’t just watch the town fade away.”

– credit Luciano Magaldi Sardella via SWNS

“I started looking at the walls as blank canvasses which could be turned into something beautiful. We never planned to be a case study, but if our experience can help other communities that’s even more meaningful.”

The 140-plus paintings spread throughout the town’s streets and historic squares are inspired by Stornara’s agricultural past, migration, and the townsfolk, among other themes.

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Residents get to vote on proposed themes for murals ahead of each festival, when the paintings are created.

This year’s edition, to take place in July, will feature continental artists as well.

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