Street Art & Cinema in Milan

Milan is fortunate to be covered in an incredible variety of street art and creative works all across the city.

Areas such as Navigli, Isola, Porta Venezia, Lambrate and, above all, Ortica have become well known for their original murals, the alternative atmosphere they create, the variety of artistic techniques on display, and the wide range of subjects and themes they explore.

Street art, by its very nature, is ever-changing: it can disappear, be replaced, or reinvented at any moment. Now that winter is over and the sun is shining, it may be the perfect opportunity to swap a museum visit for a walk through the city’s open-air galleries.

What about cinema in all that? In all honesty, it hasn’t always been easy to find murals or street art specifically dedicated to cinema - its stories, its figures, its iconic characters. And yet, the few we’ve come across are certainly worth the trip and a closer look.

🚗 (Cover picture credits: Pit Stop | Auto repair shop | Lambrate)

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🎨 Miracolo a Milano | SMOE | Lambrate

🔗 Website | 📸 @smoestudio_ | Via Valvassori Peroni 21

In December 2022, a 250 sqm mural of Miracolo a Milano was unveiled in Lambrate, Milan. Created by SMOE and chosen through a public vote, it draws on Vittorio De Sica’s 1951 film, bringing its poetic and social vision to life through iconic scenes and characters, and transforming a university building wall into a homage to the city.

BONUS: If you visit on Saturday morning, there’s a great food market there too!

🖼️ Il murale delle arti | Orticanoodles | Ortica

🔗 Website | 📸 @orticanoodles | Via Riccardo Pitteri, 58

A Ortica, the collective Orticanoodles has created Il Murale delle Arti, a 600 sqm artwork dedicated to cultural figures such as Eduardo De Filippo and Federico Fellini among others. Part of the ORME – Ortica Memoria project, it transforms the neighbourhood into an open-air museum celebrating 20th-century Italian history.

BONUS: The mural is located in the courtyard of Teatro Martinitt, where you can also catch a film, or explore the area, which features other beautiful murals by the same collective.

🧱 WallArt | Orticanoodles | Crocetta

🔗 Website | 📸 @orticanoodles | P.za Andrea Ferrari

Same collective, different area, different technique. This time, Orticanoodles brings its vision to Zona Crocetta, near Porta Romana in the heart of Milan. As part of the WallArt project, the collective transformed the walls of the Visitazione convent into a 150-meter open-air gallery, combining 12 portraits of iconic Milanese figures with literary and philosophical quotes. Among them, Luchino Visconti appears paired with a quote by French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.

🖌️ Diabolik "Un Muro che Unisce” | We Run the Streets | Foppette

🔗 Website | 📸 @werunthestreetsmilano | Via Pesto

Technically a comic book character — but did you know that a film adaptation of Diabolik was released in 2021? Directed by the Manetti Bros., the movie stars Luca Marinelli as the iconic master thief.Diabolik also conquered the streets of Milan through the “Un Muro che Unisce” project, an urban regeneration initiative in Municipio 6 near the MUDEC and the Naviglio Grande. The large-scale mural in Via Pesto helped transform the neighbourhood into a growing “comic art district”.

🍺 Scott Duff Pub | Filippo Bragatt | Porta Garibaldi

🔗 Website | 📸 @filippobragatt  | Via Alessandro Volta, 13

We admit it, this last one is a bit of a “wild card”. However, after all that walking, you might want to sit comfortably for a break (or take shelter if a Milanese storm comes in…). The Scott Duff Pub currently hosts an art exhibition, where you can enjoy a drink in the company of the Big Lebowski, Audrey Hepburn, A Clockwork Orange, Yoda or Darth Vader.

Enjoy your walks around Milan’s open-air galleries - and let us know if you spot any other cinematic characters hidden across the city’s walls. Street art is always changing, so you might just be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time!