Florence's Whimsical Street Signs

Day by day spring is arriving in Florence and this means even more time spent walking around and exploring new corners of the city. One of the most curious and fun aspects of living in the Oltrarno area of the city--that is south of the Arno--is the proliferation of the whimsical street signs. These normal "do not enter" and "turn this way" signs have been enhanced by a French artist, Clet Abraham, who lives and works here on our side of the Arno. The creatively updated signs inject a little humor into otherwise mundane items and never cease to bring a smile.

A quote from the artist:

The omnipresence of street signs, other than being a sign of the [Italian] culture of “anti-responsibility”, can verge on the absurd. The message is very poor (sometimes I feel like I’m being treated like an idiot by them) and yet they have a highly invasive aesthetic. As a professional in the world of visual space, I feel called to intervene, both to notify the public of the absurdity of the situation, and to propose a constructive and respectful alternative….The final objective? That traffic keeps flowing without us feeling spoken down to!

Here is a selection of our favorites. Yet another reason to come see us in Florence!