Campana Road

“Via Campana – Paolina – Portuense” is an urban art  mural by the artist Er Pinto, a leading exponent of street poetry, particularly connected to the territory of Municipality XI where he lives and started his career. The mural is on the wall of the viaduct facing the Drugstore Museum and dialoguing with the archaeological ruins perfectly visible in the area in front of it, owned by Eni, and with the Drugstore Museum just a few meters ahead.

In the archaeological history of this district of Rome, the via Campana/Portuense plays a considerable role. The mural recalls the historical origins of Rome, when the street via Campana, the same whose evidence is still visible nearby, connected the salt pans by the sea with an increasingly expanding Rome. From the beginning, via Campana was a towing path (via di alaggio): a flat route flanking the right bank of the Tiber, used since the origins for the counter-current hauling of boats laden with goods and salt, exploiting the strength of men or draft animals, particularly buffaloes. This use was so emblematic that since the 16th century, this street had been known as the “buffalo road” (strada delle bufale).

Pinto’s “street poetry” is a tribute to via Campana, as if the road itself were speaking to us:

“SCORRO E SEGUO IL FIUME DALLA PORTA AL PORTO MI ATTRAVERSI ALZI IL VOLUME AL MARE VADO AL CUORE RIPORTO VIA DI ARRIVI E DI PARTENZE CAMPANA, PAOLINA, PORTUENSE”

I FLOW AND FOLLOW THE RIVER FROM THE GATE TO THE PORT YOU CROSS ME YOU TURN THE VOLUME UP I GO TO THE SEA I COME BACK TO THE HEART STREET OF ARRIVALS AND OF DEPARTURES CAMPANA, PAOLINA, PORTUENSE”

The artist thus synthesizes the role that Portuense street holds for many who, like him, drive through it almost every day. It flows as the via Campana initially did, and roughly follows the river, from the Porta (Portese) to the Porto (Fiumicino, the harbour of Rome) which was also Portus Augusti (the port of the ancient city). “Mi attraversi e alzi il volume” (You cross me and turn the volume up) is a storytelling of those who pass through, on foot or by car, and turn up the music. It is one of the few roads that goes to the sea and returns to the heart of Rome (Trastevere). In the background, as a texture, is a graphic reference to the ancient basalt stones (basoli) of the via Campana found in the area facing the mural.

Er Pinto’s street poetry work aims to activate a past-present connection through the protagonist of his verses, the via Campana-Portuense, thus evoking the original Roman history -when via Campana was the connecting street between the sea, the salt pans, and a transforming, expanding Rome- while simultaneously updating it with verses that refer to a contemporary context and the feelings and expectations of those who have passed through and will pass through via Portuense from ancient Rome to the present day.

The project, therefore, does not evoke a precise and significant moment in history, but the historical and cultural value of the via Campana-Portuense, which has always been a connecting element between urban and extra-urban space, and a contact between different cultures and religions through the Imperial Port. Its goal is to enhance and promote its recovery in a cultural and social sense. This project is thus inspired by the identity of the chosen location, currently only perceived as a road junction, whose historical and artistic heritage the mural intends to highlight and exalt.

In “Via Campana-Paolina-Portuense,” Er Pinto’s verses will be animated through augmented reality accessible via QR code. Thanks to the integration of sounds, images, and videos, the artwork becomes immersive, offering the public an engaging and multi-sensory experience that goes far beyond a simple observation. The intervention thus combines tradition and innovation, proposing a layered enjoyment of the work with various levels of perception and involvement aimed at bringing out the identity of the chosen location, whose historical and artistic heritage it intends to highlight and exalt.

Augmented Reality by Bonobolabo: scanning the QR codes on the plaques with a smartphone activates animations and digital content that create an interaction between physical and digital art, here a preview. 

Videos created by Badtoastand available on YouTube.