Pier Paolo Spinazzé (born 1982), also known by the pseudonym Cibo (, Italian for "food"; sometimes styled CIBO), is an Italian

antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

and

street artist A street artist is a person who makes art in public places. Street artists include portrait artists, caricaturists, graffiti artists, muralists and people making crafts. Street artists can also refer to street performers such as musicians, acr ...

who uses

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s to cover

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

graffiti in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. He began using his murals in this way after one of his classmates was killed by a group of neo-fascists; his art typically depicts

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Ancient Roman cuisine, Roman times, and later spread ...

Activity

Prior to 2008, Spinazzé painted

s of food items on empty walls in

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. In 2008, a group of ultranationalists or

neo-fascists Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenop ...

killed one of Spinazzé's

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

classmates, leading him to decide to take action. Shortly afterward, he encountered fascist

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

on a wall, and covered the wall with a mural depicting a

Vienna sausage Vienna sausage (; Viennese/Austrian German: or ; Swiss German: ; Swabian: or ) is a thin parboiled sausage traditionally made of pork and beef in a casing of sheep's intestine, then given a low-temperature smoking. The word is German fo ...

. Within a few days, new graffiti had been drawn over the mural, and he began adding various sauces to the sausage to cover each piece of new graffiti that appeared. He subsequently began painting murals over similar graffiti in and around

. In June 2018, there was an uptick in neo-fascism and

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

ideology in Italy, and Spinazzé told ''

Vice News Vice News (stylized as VICE News) is Vice Media's alternative current affairs channel, producing daily documentary essays and video through its website and YouTube channel. It promotes itself on its coverage of "under-reported stories". Vice Ne ...

'' that he had reached "a tipping point" and intended to eliminate all the neo-fascist and far-right graffiti he saw. This included

swastikas The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

and

ethnic slurs The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorat ...

as well as

Celtic crosses upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its us ...

. In a November 2021 profile of Spinazzé by ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', one of his followers on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

(363,000 ) alerted him to graffiti of racial slurs and swastikas in a tunnel on the edge of Verona. In roughly 15 minutes, he painted a

Pizza Margherita Pizza Margherita, also known as Margherita pizza, is, together with the pizza marinara, the typical Neapolitan pizza. It is roundish in shape with a raised edge (the ) and seasoned with hand-crushed peeled tomatoes, mozzarella (buffalo mozzar ...

and a

Caprese salad Caprese salad (, ) is an Italian salad prepared with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and sweet basil and seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is usually arranged on a plate in restaurant practice. Like pizza Margherita, it features the colo ...

over the slurs, covering a swastika with a large

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

. His social media followers frequently inform him about new graffiti so that he can cover it.

Motivation

Spinazzé describes himself as an

. He has stated that his motivation is not to challenge fascists directly, but rather to "overthrow the rampant and systematic acceptance of hate" in Verona. He is frequently

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

by far-right figures, and has received

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s, but has expressed an intent to remain active and invited other artists to join him.

Characteristics

Murals by Cibo typically depict

Italian food Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times, and later spread around the world together with waves of I ...

. When painting, the artist generally wears a

straw hat A straw hat is a wide-brimmed hat woven out of straw or straw-like synthetic materials. Straw hats are a type of sun hat designed to shade the head and face from direct sunlight, but are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a ...

and a

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sy ...

made of cloth

sausages A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with Edible salt, salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or ex ...

. He often uses symbols across multiple murals, such as pumpkin

tortellini Tortellini is a type of stuffed pasta typical of the Italian cities of Bologna and Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region. Traditionally it is stuffed with a mix of meat (pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella), Parmesan cheese, egg, and nutmeg and ...

, causing viewers to become aware that his art is covering up hate symbols when they see it.

Personal life

, Spinazzé worked in the restaurant industry.

References

External links

* {{Street art Living people 1982 births Artists from Verona Italian street artists 21st-century Italian male artists Anti-fascism in Italy Italian anti-fascists Pseudonymous artists