Rome Graffiti Cleaner Takes on Historic Park Tags

Valerio Tuveri has returned to a historic public garden in Rome to remove graffiti from its wall for the second time in two weeks, part of a volunteer effort he promotes online as "the guy who cleans Rome".

Tuveri, 28, used a high-pressure sandblaster to remove large white letters from the wall of the renovated Villa Sciarra public garden, near Trastevere. He told AFP the tag appeared a few days earlier.

Tuveri posts videos on Instagram and TikTok under the handle "mr.tuvs". He said he carries out the graffiti-cleaning for free in agreement with city authorities.

He began posting cleaning videos in mid-2024, while working for a private company specialising in cleaning and restoring monuments, statues and fountains. He said he cleaned about eight kilometres of walls along the Tiber before the Vatican's 2025 Jubilee, then decided to continue the work on his own time.

Tuveri said he has more than 80,000 Instagram followers and has inspired similar efforts in Brescia, Brazil and Spain. He said attitudes in Rome have changed as people see cleaned walls and reconsider tagging.

A local tour guide, Emilia Del Monte, told AFP that many tags in the city had "no artistic meaning whatsoever" and said tourists often ask why there is so much graffiti in Rome.

Tuveri said graffiti on Rome's monuments, buildings, shutters, dumpsters and trains has worsened in recent years. He called for steeper fines, more cameras and awareness campaigns.

Rome police said about 50 people were sanctioned between January and early July for the misdemeanours of damage and destruction of buildings.

Stefano Marin, Rome's city councillor for environmental policy and citizen relations, said volunteering "cannot and must not permanently replace the responsibilities of institutions". He said Rome had limited resources for the size of the city and the flooded frequency of vandalism, and proposed more security cameras and a national tax credit for citizens, associations or businesses that help restore urban spaces.