Urban Stage – Mural Art Fest

A Sicilian village turned into an open-air gallery

Urban Stage – Mural Art Fest is the urban art festival that has brought color, ideas, and fresh perspectives to the public spaces of Villafrati, a municipality in the Province of Palermo, in the heart of Sicily. For ten days, the small village transformed into a widespread artistic residency, hosting ten national and international street artists invited to engage with the walls and facades of the historic center. The result is a permanent open-air museum, capable of attracting cultural and tourist interest while strengthening the bond between the community and its territory.

Ten artists, ten murals

Under the prestigious artistic direction of Giulio Rosk, ten protagonists of the contemporary urban scene participated in the festival's contest: alongside Giulio Rosk himself, Mirko Loste, Zed1, Skan, Sergio La Barbera, Andrea Casciu, Kiki Skipi, Vincenzo Suscetta, Sipros, and Daniele Paternostro. The artists lived and worked in the village, engaging with the history, traditions, and identity of the place to create works that tell stories of community, memory, and the future. The organizational coordination was managed by Massimo Jacuzzo.

More than just murals: workshops, talks, music, and tours

Alongside the creation of the artworks, the festival program offered ten days of urban art animated by workshops, talks, music, and guided street art tours to discover the murals. The central theme of the event was urban regeneration, identity, and shared creativity, with the goal of enhancing the territory through public art and transforming walls and facades into permanent masterpieces.

A key piece of the "Villafrati Borgo dei Teatri" project

Urban Stage – Mural Art Fest is part of the broader cultural regeneration project under the PNRR "Villafrati Borgo dei Teatri", promoted by the municipal administration. The initiative, supported by the Department of Sport, Entertainment, and Tourism led by Fabio Cassata, represents a further step forward in the cultural and tourist revival of the town. The first edition, hosted in June 2026, left Villafrati with a legacy of mural artworks that can be enjoyed year-round, for free, while strolling through the streets of the historic center.