To celebrate the 2050th anniversary of the founding of Aosta, street artist Ozmo has designed a series of murals that reinterpret the historical, archaeological, geographical and cultural richness of the city in a contemporary way. The first work, on the facade of the “Giovanni Pezzoli” Primary School, depicts Janus Bifrontes, one of the oldest deities of the Roman cult. The unveiling is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.
Ozmo, pseudonym of Gionata Gesi (Pontedera, 1975), has imagined a diffuse artistic path that will find space on significant buildings in Aosta, transforming the urban fabric into an open-air gallery.
The initiative, supported by the Municipality of Aosta, is part of the AOSTAE 2025 program, the schedule of events organized for the anniversary. The project includes an itinerary initially limited to two murals, which is intended to be expanded in the future. The themes chosen refer to the identity elements of the city: the alpine landscape, the memory of prehistoric times, and the condition of the frontier. This is not an isolated work, but a diffuse direction that invites the public to recompose the fragments into a unified narrative.
The first mural is placed on the wall of the “Giovanni Pezzoli” Primary School (137 Via Parigi), whose building faces directly onto State Road 26, which retraces the route of the Roman Via delle Gallie, marking a symbolic boundary between ancient Aosta - with Porta Praetoria, the cryptoporticus and the Roman urban layout - and the modern city developing along new axes and infrastructure. Ozmo’s Janus turns his gaze to the road and the school, a symbol not only of passages and communication routes, but also of the individual educational path. The deity thus becomes a bridge between city and individual, between ancient memory and personal growth.
The second mural will be created on the Cerlogne School, in Corso Saint Martin de Corléans, near the megalithic area of Aosta, one of the most important symbolic-spiritual sites in Europe. Here is preserved the anthropomorphic stele dating back to the 3rd millennium B.C., now at the MegaMuseum - Contemporary Archaeological Museum, located in front of the school building. The stele, reinterpreted with features reminiscent of comic books, will serve as a bridge between eras, interweaving past and present and connecting today’s children with the city’s oldest roots.
“In the year of our city’s 2050th anniversary celebrations,” commented Samuele Tedesco, councillor for culture and youth policies for the City of Aosta. “Aosta is mirrored by unveiling one of its ancient and new faces, transforming walls into portals in which we immerse ourselves by discovering stories that speak of us. The interventions of Ozmo, an international artist, show us that Aosta in recent years has been able to renew itself without fear in its languages and forms, without nostalgia, but with deep courage. The Janus, God of Passages, thus becomes a warning to reiterate that thresholds are not for standing still, but for going beyond and continuing on the path, in the discovery of new visions.”
“This mural project,” Ozmo explained, “is developed in a number of distinct places in the city, which correspond to symbolic thresholds that refer to macro-themes such as nature, the origin and history of the city and its identity.”
 |
| 2050th anniversary founding of Aosta, Ozmo makes a Janus Bifrontes on the facade of the elementary school |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
