Banksy's Pop Art at the Aragonese Castle in Otranto

On display the original screen prints that have decreed the global success of one of the most complex, brilliant and intuitive artists of our century

"When the time comes to go, walk away in silence, without making a fuss."

For a long time I had wanted to see the original screen prints that have made Bansky the global success, the British artist, one of the most complex, brilliant and intuitive of our century.

I took advantage of the beautiful temple to enjoy the last rays of September sun in Salento and stroll through the historic center, which in this period is usually fabulously pleasant.

Visit the exhibition. among other things, I learned that the Castle of Otranto is the first Gothic novel in history as well as the symbol of the city,

In fact, this majestic and ancient Castle gave the title to the first Gothic novel in the history of literature: The Castel of Otranto by Horace Walpole, from 1764. The first milestone within a very long and flourishing literary tradition, set precisely in the city of Otranto was born from the attempt to combine romanticism with a natural style.

In recent years, it has been transformed into an ideal location for hosting exhibitions and events, such as Bansky's exhibition in Otranto, which allowed me to see two of the artist's outstanding works: icons of his production, Girl with Balloon, (girl who makes the balloon fly away) a 2004-05 silkscreen print on paper, voted in 2017 as the most beloved work by Britons, and Love is in the Air, the stencil depicting a young man throwing a bouquet of flowers.

In the body of work on display, there are also other particularly interesting pieces such as Virgin Mary, also known as Toxic Mary, a silkscreen print on paper from 2003 that some say represents Banksy's harsh critique of the role of Religion in History, or the series of rats, metropolitan animals among the most iconic for the British artist, (Get Out While You Can; Gansta Rat Love) made with spray and acrylics on plywood after 2000. But also the silkscreen print Barcode (2004), the first image in which Banksy uses barcodes, which he would later exploit in other works, and again Laughnow (2003), with one of the recurring subjects, namely the monkey, used to testify to man's arrogance towards other living species.

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