Memory on the Wall: Graffiti on Religious Wall Paintings

Like those birds that lay eggs only in other species' nests, memory produces in a place that does not belong to it.

--Michel de Certeau ¹

Perhaps it was at the height of the uprising when one of the citizens of Trent in northern Italy entered the bishop's palace, went to his private apartments, and with a sharp instrument inscribed the following statement on a wall: "1407 die Sabati 1 . . . / Fedrigo da Ostarich in Trento . . . / me. . . e ave la segnoria e l vescovo . . ." [1407 on Saturday 1 (6th of April) . . . Frederick of Austria in Trent . . . the dominion and the bishop . . .]. ² The graffito recorded the successful revolt of the Trentines against the prince-bishop of Trent, George of Liechtenstein. The Trentines resented both the new bishop's heavier taxes and the presence of foreigners in the government (George of Liechtenstein, who came from Moravia, had brought some of his compatriots along). ³ The Trentine nobility, in particular, saw its power threatened. Frederick IV, count of Tyrol and duke of Austria, who had come to power in 1406, encouraged the rebellion in the hopes of increasing his own power in the region. At the beginning of February 1407, under the leadership of a nobleman from Trent, Rodolfo Belenzani, the city revolted. On the 28th, the bishop agreed to a series of concessions, which led to communal autonomy. Belenzani was elected "capitano del popolo." Liechtenstein sought help from the mercenary captain Ottobono da Parma, but in April 1407 was discovered and jailed. Later that month, Frederick IV intervened and guaranteed the town's freedom while Giorgio left for exile. ⁴

By making this mark, right at the core of a building that stood as a symbol of power, this Trentine graffitist expressed the inhabitants' reappropriation of their town (thanks to the help of the Austrians). In doing so, he also recorded for posterity this momentous event, leaving a material trace of the insurgents' presence in the bishop's apartments. The graffito celebrated the event and expressed its importance: it was worth writing down, and in a special place. ⁵

Graffiti and appropriation

Trent's inscription of the 1407 events elucidates the intimate connection between graffiti-making and what this volume refers to as the "cultural processes of 'appropriation.'" Starting on the most basic and obvious level, as is the case for all graffiti, the surface it was placed on was not originally meant to receive it and thus was turned into a surface for writing. More importantly, the act of writing acquired a symbolic dimension, for the appropriation of the wall's surface acted as a synechdoche for the reappropriation of the city, manifesting the presence of the people of Trent in the very space once occupied by the bishop. The choice of the location for the graffito acquires an increased resonance when considered within the history of the architectural setting. The wall that received the inscription is on the top floor of the Torre Aquila, a tower which was built over a city gate bearing the same name. Although a tower over the Aquila gate already existed in 1290, it is probably not until the time of George of Liechtenstein that it reached its present dimensions. ⁶ The bishop took possession of the tower--indeed, appropriated it in the etymological sense of the term, of making one's own, as he turned it into his private apartments. ⁷ For the Trentines the tower represented more than just the living quarters of a hated ruler. It occupied a strategic position as it coincided with one of the entrances to the city and also dominated both the countryside and the town. The civic and symbolic importance of the building is made clear in a document issued by Frederick IV after the revolt in which he gives back to the Trentines the control of the tower and...