The murals in Diamante, Southern Italy, reflect the specific experience of the Mezzogiorno

What is it about?

The "Murals" at Diamante - The story of woe of the Mezzogiorno, represented in the murals of contemporary artists: This article works at the description and analysis of a series of murals that have been painted at Diamante (Calabria, Southern Italy) in the course of an artistic event in 1981. The murals focus in their contents on the specific experience of suffering of the southern Italian people over the centuries: Poverty, draught, unemployment, foreign rule, oppression, and exploitation. From the middle of the nineteenth century hope and longing were connected to the emigration to America. Leaving meant not only a journey into the unknown, but also the, often final, separation from family, wife, children, and homeland. The life of those who were left behind was often characterized by loneliness, waiting, and fragmentation. The emigrants who finally returned after years mostly slipped anew into the network of the old misery. In summary the question is put up, if there is a deeper meaning in the presence reflected by the murals, a presence that may characterize at the same time the biography of many other emigrants and refugees: Suffering as the purpose of being and hope as a strategy to survive. German: Der Beitrag widmet sich der Beschreibung und Analyse von Wandbildern, die im Rahmen einer Kunstaktion Anfang der 1980er Jahre in Diamante/Kalabrien entstanden sind. Der thematische Kern der `Murales´ sind die spezifischen Leidenserfahrungen der Menschen des italienisches Südens über die Jahrhunderte: Armut, Dürre, Arbeitslosigkeit, Fremdherrschaft, Unterdrückung und Ausbeutung. Hoffnungen und Sehnsüchte verbanden sich ab Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts mit der Auswanderung nach Amerika. Wegzugehen bedeutete nicht nur eine Fahrt ins Ungewisse, sondern auch die, oft endgültige, Trennung von Familie, Frau, Kindern und Heimat. Das Leben der Zurückgebliebenen war oft bestimmt durch Einsamkeit, Warten, Fragmentierung. Wer nach Jahren zurückkehrte, geriet meist erneut in die Fänge des alten Elends. Resümierend wird die Frage nach dem Sinn des von den `Murales´ gespiegelten Daseins gestellt, das zugleich die Lebensgeschichte vieler anderer Emigranten und Flüchtlinge kennzeichnen mag: Leiden als Daseinszweck und das Prinzip Hoffnung. Die “Murales” in Diamante. Die Leidensgeschichte des Mezzogiorno, dargestellt in den Wandbildern zeitgenössischer Künstler (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240483063_Die_Murales_in_Diamante_Die_Leidensgeschichte_des_Mezzogiorno_dargestellt_in_den_Wandbildern_zeitgenossischer_Kunstler [accessed Sep 3, 2017].

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Why is it important?

The documentation, description and interpretation of the murals in Diamante show the specific experience of suffering of the southern Italian people over the centuries: Poverty, draught, unemployment, foreign rule, oppression, and exploitation. From the middle of the nineteenth century hope and longing were connected to the emigration to America. Leaving meant not only a journey into the unknown, but also the, often final, separation from family, wife, children, and homeland...

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