Memory as marketing. Murali Ortiki-Lambrata in Milan.

In the interest of clarity, Gentile Elisabetta Invernizzi, I ultimately request that my portrait not be included in Murali Prav, with the hope that the fulfillment of my request will not cause difficulties in practical implementation. I convey my greetings to you. Franca Caffa.".

Elizabetta Invernizzi

Elizabetta Invernizzi is spokesperson for OR.ME, Ortica Memoria, which defines itself as "a social organization supported by the City ofMilan that contributes to urban regeneration through the implementation of cultural, artistic, recreational and educational activities. It was created in 2017 as an art participation project with the aim of transforming the historic district of Ortica into an open-air museum, creating murali on''the theme of memory and history of the city of Milan'. According to Milan's shaky model, OR.ME is the embodiment of the Good.

Franca Caffa

Franca Caffa, originally from Genoa, is a historian and tireless fighter for the right to housing in Milan, for many years she was president of the Committee of Tenants of Molise Calvairate, brilliantly discovering and denouncing all new forms of oppression. OR.ME informed her that her portrait was featured on "Murali Prava" among the two hundred characters who fought for the "improvement of people's lives" and invited her to attend the unveiling along with the vice mayor and other authorities. Franca declined the invitation and asked that her image be removed for three reasons: because Ortica Memoria did not consult her before including her portrait in the murali, because the defense''rights seems to her incompatible with the members of this government, which she considers responsible for the current situation in Milan, and because she does not want to be associated with this form of regeneration through murali, which is so favored by immovable societies. Her act is revolutionary, clever, scandalous for an established establishment used to this constant glory of goodness, exemplary values, civic virtues, inclusivity, neighborhood identity, profession, community or memory with a capital letter through the reproduction of painted walls. It is a radical critique of this true marketing of memory, subjected to public and private funding, countless press conferences organized by foundations that behind the façade of culture almost''always have ties to the real estate world, and promotional videos commissioned by the city's press office or some real estate society. "I can't connect the face of a poor homeless child to Ortica Memoria's initiatives," Caffa writes. "I speak a different language.

A group of activists from Lambrate.

A group of activists from Lambrate, led by Adriana Berra, commented on yet another colorful building in the neighborhood, "Will the building in Ortika remain without murali? Will this'Does a distinctive and almost legendary neighborhood need all these murals? And the busloads of tourists who come in droves to visit the renamed '\''neighborhood-museum'\''? Not to mention how the transformation of the exterior murals into a museum has contributed to gentrification not only in Ortique, but also in Lambrate-Rubattino: housing prices have skyrocketed and a popular neighborhood is turning into a neighborhood for the wealthy, from which the "poor" are forced to leave. This is all happening under the leadership of leftist minds. P.S. There is a lot of research on how the murals paved the way for gentrification of neighborhoods in the US and elsewhere. One would like to ask: who carried out the transformation of Ortika ignoring these studies or was very well aware of them?".

On their popular Facebook page, "Lambrate-Rubattino'The objectives of the This is Milano project by Dils, one of the leading real estate players in the area with East Garden and Bistolfi 31: "to give value back to the neighborhoods", that is, to brand them, getting more return on their investment; organizing festivals, publishing podcasts, idyllic stories about history and local landmarks and, of course, tours of the murals. On the company's website, in a video entitled "A Day with Giorgio Bartocchi" (street art artist), Giovanni Lanzetti, president of OR.ME, and Ginetto Mori, founder, candidly state: "We designed the project with a clear ambition: to create a neighborhood with an artistic, tourist destination, but with an international perspective." Which is the equivalent of selling your partisan''heroes with bad images on a large scale, the joys of real estate developers. The urban revolt against commercial street art begins with Ortica-Lambrate and demands a different, clearer and more articulate language, finally political again. (Lucia Tozzi) "