La Taverna di Mamma Floria

(January - March 2021: Semi-Quarantine)

This is a really special one.
It was the second wall that I ever started to paint.
Once I started it though, I didn’t want it to finish.

Since I’ve been in Italy, I’ve met some really interesting people.
One of my favorites is Maria Laura.
I met her at a photography class (held by Massimo Branca) and from there a friendship bloomed.

January-April 2021 there was still a semi-quarantine, mostly everything was still closed and the most people could do was go visit friends at each others houses. Mary would periodically stay in her parents basement and was really thrilled when I asked if I could paint one of the walls.
We had a lot of sleepovers and hung out a lot with her mom, the tail-less cat Neuron as well as the extremely well-behaved dog, Atman.

I started to love hanging out with Momma Floria.
I had some sleepovers in that basement even when Mary wasn’t around.
Momma Floria would come downstairs while I painted and would tell stories about her childhood, fairytales and myths from the area, the way she grew up, the way the area had changed (she’s lived in Salva Rosa all her life) and fed me a lot.

Even though I worked extremely slowly on purpose (painted two other walls and made a series of silk-screen prints while working on this), eventually it was finished… La Taverna di Mamma Floria :)