The “street Art ” Of Florence: Blub’s Project

Florence is one of those special cities in the world where you stumble upon art with every step you take. From the Ponte Vecchio to the Piazza de la Signoria, passing through the wonderful Duomo, it is one of the most beautiful places that we can visit. But today we want to look at street art in the city, and it has its own name: Blub.

Florence is art no matter where you look at it, and Fiorentinos know it. But apart from what everyone knows, Florence has a much more unknown and curious type of art. It is a very particular street art, that of the Blub project.

Where does Blub come from?

The city of the Renaissance has not always been so stately nor has it worn its best face, but was submerged, literally speaking. The city’s river, the Arno, underwent a spectacular flood in 1966.

Much of Florence was flooded and a hundred people died. Many works of art were also lost. The river swallowed paintings, sculptures and other works of all kinds.

But among all the Fiorentinos, and helped by some patrons, Florence rose from its ashes as the Phoenix  and many of those works could be recovered. Perhaps there is the origin, or at least the inspiration, of Blub.

Who is Blub and what does it do?

Answering the question of who is Blub really is, since his identity is unknown. It is known that he is a native of Florence and that he conceived this idea in Cadaqués, the hometown of the master Dalí. While there on vacation, he painted the son of one of his friends with diving goggles, without really knowing why … and that’s where it all began.

Back in the city, he  began to paint classic figures with his now mythical diving goggles.  But he knew that they should not be just any characters, so, pulling from the imaginary of the city, he followed the path of Renaissance, which owes so much to Florence (and vice versa).

Fifty years after the fatal flood, Florence remembers those episodes through L’arte sa nuotare ( The art to know how to swim ), Blub’s project. Thanks to him, walking through Florence you can find numerous masters of painting, artists or “submerged” works of art.

His first works were La Gioconda , The Lady with an Ermine and Leonardo da Vinci. He placed them on November 4, just on the anniversary of the flood. And since then, his success has only been increasing. In addition, being one of the most touristic cities in Europe, its name and its project crosses all borders.

Where to find Blub?

Finding some of Blub’s works while walking around Florence is not difficult, as there are dozens scattered throughout the city. For example, walking through the Palazzo Vecchio area we found the aquatic version of The Lovers , by Magritte.

If you find yourself in Piazza della Passera, look for the submerged profile of Dante. And when you are about to get your tickets to enter the famous Galleria degli Uffizi, while you wait in line, look for another of his works.

But not only in Florence can we find some of his works, but he has crossed the limits of the city, and even the country. In this way, we can see your project in San Gimignano, Pisa or Lucca, in Italy, and in other cities such as London or Brussels.

The importance of Blub

Blub has shown, thanks to his work, that urban art does not destroy but builds. That they do not have to be two opposite poles, but rather they are the sides of the same coin.

Being able to transmit with your work in a light box or in a register box has the same merit as doing it in a painting in a room of any museum. Art is art, wherever it is, as long as it is respectful of the environment in which it is.

It has also shown that, despite the problems, art resurfaces. And that through art, it can be resurfaced. “With l’acqua alla gola? No problem. L’arte sa nuotare ”(With water around your neck? No problem, art knows how to swim).

Main Photography: James Abbott / Flickr.com