When the shutters come down, the art comes alive.
From September 1 to 30, the San Paolino neighbourhood will become an open-air art gallery once more with the fourth edition of Palazzuolo Strada Aperta, the festival bringing contemporary art to the shutters of local businesses along via Palazzuolo, via dei Canacci and via del Porcellana.
Promoted by A Testa Alta A.P.S., with artistic curation by Street Levels Gallery and supported through the City of Florence’s Estate Fiorentina 2026 programme, the festival brings nine Italian artists to the streets: Wolsha, Geometric Bang, Giorgio Bartocci, Shekoone, Edoardo Bansone, 134127, Loste, Crisa and ScrivimiPresto.
Their styles range from Wolsha’s fascination with typography, signs and advertising graphics to Geometric Bang’s energetic geometry and vivid patterns, Giorgio Bartocci’s fragmented figures and constantly shifting abstract forms, Shekoone’s graphic compositions, 3D lettering and optical illusions, as well as Edoardo Bansone’s precise geometric vocabulary, while Crisa’s poetic language brings together plants, architecture and metropolitan landscapes. 134127, Loste and ScrivimiPresto complete a deliberately varied line-up. Visitors will be able to watch the shutters being transformed in real time, one after another.
The new works will bring the total number of painted shutters to 53. The first three editions produced 44: 10 artists in 2023, 15 in 2024 and 19 in 2025. Together, they form a permanent, freely accessible collection in the historic centre that reveals itself when the shops close.
The project is also rooted in the neighbourhood itself. Each intervention is developed through a dialogue between the artist, Street Levels Gallery and the owner of the business, all working together to decide the subject.
Get involved: workshops + street art tours
On Saturday, September 19, from 4 to 6pm, artists Caterina Sansone and Urto will lead free outdoor workshops for children and adults in piazza San Paolino. The sessions offer an opportunity to experiment with artistic techniques alongside practising artists, in the same public space where the festival’s murals and shutter paintings are taking shape.
For those who want to discover the wider story of the neighbourhood’s street art, the festival is also offering four guided street-art tours throughout September, including a tour in English on Friday, September 11 at 7pm. The experience concludes with an aperitivo at 25hours Hotel in piazza San Paolino, giving participants the chance to continue the conversation in a more informal setting. Participation costs 10 euro, which includes A Testa Alta A.P.S. membership, the guided tour and aperitivo. Places can be booked by completing the registration form at or by contacting +39 344 6662638.
