ROME: Italy is a country at the bottom of the European map. The shape looks like a big boot kicking a football. Just under the knee of the boot lies Rome. The writers in Rome does not seem to bother to kick any football, instead they kick ass with the italian transport system. The ass of that system is called Metro di Roma.
In Endstation Magazine issue #1 you could read about Rome as it was in 1997. We reported that the "Roma subway is burning!". Now three years later of writing, bombing and vandalism, the Roma metro almost seem to be destroyed, but far from burned out.
"Every train is full of pieces, throw-ups, top to bottoms, end to ends and whole cars."
In this issue a local writer in Rome that Endstation has talked to tells us more about the situation in Rome:
"Here in Rome there are two metro lines, plus the "Lido" line that goes to the beach. The two lines are called "A" and "B" line. The B line is really very bombed."
"It's not possible to find a car completely clean, believe me, I've tried... every train is full of pieces, throw-ups, top to bottoms, end to ends and whole cars. Even the insides of the trains are full of tags, but they clean them more often."
"Writers from all over Europe has done it."
"The A line is not as bombed as the other ones, but in these last couple of years it has been painted a lot. Alot of writers paint it despite the guards. The first one-man-whole-train ever painted in Rome was also done on the A-line."
"Finally, the Lido line is really the most bombed one. Many writers from all over Europe has done it. Except for the cleaned windows it is totally covered by pieces. It is easier to paint... but there are always the infamous guards."
"It happened that they shot a writer."
He describes Rome as if there is no control over graffiti at all. But if you have heard about the train scene in Rome before, you have probably come across stories about the infamous guards. Cruel italian old men with holster and revolver shooting on everything that moves. Our reporter tells us more...
"The guards are the worst part of Rome's graffiti scene. They do have a gun and they sometimes look scary, but only once, about 3-4 years ago it happened that they shot a writer. If you get caught they will take you to the police station. Then you will have to pay a fine... but you won't go to jail."
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gast zen
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dumbo
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dumbo
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dumbo whole car
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Graffiti can be found in most cities in Italy. Milan and Naples are two main scenes for trains. Milan has a popular metro train as seen in internationally distributed graffiti magazines. The italian national railways FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) are often painted thoughout the country. There are also regional trains in various cities. Sometimes european trains from other countries may get a piece done by an italian writer attached to it's panel.
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christina
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blast
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blast
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lafor gucci
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We asked our contact to tell us about the buff in Italy. The answer we got may tell all about the situation.
"What does it mean 'BUFF' ? ?"
If the Italian train companies ever finds out what it means, I guess the same word will have a completely different meaning...
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