Italy street artist covers No Vax slogans with food murals

Rome: An Italian street artist famed for transforming swastikas and racist scrawls into colourful depictions of food has begun covering up No Vax graffiti too.

The 39-year-old artist from Verona, known as Cibo (the Italian word for food), says of his new artistic mission: “It’s called civic sense.”

For over a decade Cibo, whose real name is Pier Paolo Spinazzè, has obscured swastikas and messages of racism and hate into “delicious things to eat”, including cupcakes, pizza, fruit and sausages.

With a following of 370,000 on Instagram, Cibo is frequently tipped off by people asking him to “clean up” swastikas and other offensive material, both in Verona and other cities in Italy.

Cibo, recognisable by his trademark straw hat, began his artistic career in 2008 after one of his university friends was killed by a group of neo-fascists.

Over the years he has been on the receiving end of threats, most recently from anti-vaxxers, but has vowed to continue his work regardless.

His latest video on social media shows him covering an anti-vaccine message with apples, alongside the caption: “An apple a day keeps no vax away”.