In the 1970s, while in Venice, I saw on one of the historic little palaces an inscription made with spray paint: “Freedom for homosexuals.” I thought to myself then that, fortunately, we did not have this plague of writing on walls here. Yet in this respect, we too have joined Europe. First, in the 1980s, the war written on walls (traces of it still remain in the city) was political in nature; later, a wave of defacing the city began, carried out by sports fans of various clubs, supporters and fans of rock music bands, who painted their allegiances on the façades of our homes. Recently, a kind of war on the walls has been noticeable between supporters and opponents of skins and punks. As a result, the façades of our buildings (often freshly painted), walls, stairwells, gates and lifts look like one enormous eyesore.
How can we combat this plague? This is a question for all the residents of our city. For the Police, to occasionally check young people walking around late at night. For parents, to take an interest in what their teenage children were doing in the city until late and what purpose the spray paint they carry serves. For educators in schools, so that this issue becomes the subject of educational discussions. Finally, for all adults not to remain indifferent to visible vandalism, often carried out in front of our eyes by young people. It is time to begin the fight for the cleanliness of our city.