In the Santa Rosalía district, a monumental fresco created by the artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri, unveiled on June 23, represents the Spanish singer as a sacred figure.
A modern Madonna with the features of the Spanish pop star Rosalía now watches over the Santa Rosalía neighborhood in Palermo. Unveiled on June 23, a majestic fresco shakes up the codes of urban art and the sacred in Sicily. The Palermo artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri represented the Spanish singer Rosalía in the guise of a holy figure, with a halo directly inspired by Santa Rosalía, patroness of the city.
The choice of location owes nothing to chance. In Palermo, the figure of Santa Rosalía has structured the identity of the city since the 17th century.e century. She lived her entire life in retirement on Monte Pellegrino, near Palermo, where she died in 1170. According to Catholic tradition, she appeared in a dream in 1624 to guide the inhabitants to her relics, thus putting an end to a terrible plague epidemic. Raised to the rank of patron saint, “Santuzza” is the subject of fervent devotion, culminating each year during the Partya baroque procession where religious fervor and folklore mix.
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“In Palermo, the image of Saint Rosalie crosses time, changes meaning and transforms to the rhythm of the city,” says the street artist in a press release. It is a presence that relates to the religious dimension, but also popular, cultural and even emotional; today more than ever, she supports the struggles for the emancipation of women in a society that still wants to keep them in submission. » His work entitled Ecstasyis based on this syncretism.
“The golden background evokes the mysticism of sacred iconography, while the decoration inspired by the illuminations of the Festino is part of this popular devotion which has always characterized Palermo” explains the artist.
A mystical and musical dialogue
Sicilian culture was also honored by the Spanish pop star. In his latest album Lux, crossed with spiritual references, Rosalía paid homage to the saint and to Sicily in the title Rani firepart of which is interpreted in Sicilian dialect.
In this song, the Iberian artist explores the themes of renunciation and emancipation: “I threw myself into nothing / Not to lose my freedom” (“I threw myself into nothingness so as not to lose my freedom”). In a press release, Igor Scalisi Palminteri, depicts the singer’s text as directly echoing the hermit’s quest for the absolute: “I perceive a tension which belongs both to Rosalía’s artistic research and to the figure of Saint Rosalie: the idea of a passage, of a transformation necessary to nourish one’s own freedom. »