Just one year after its completion, the future of the mural by Pierpaolo Perretta—known by his artist name Mr. Savethewall—commissioned by the City of Massa, is once again at the center of public debate because the work, created on modular concrete blocks and conceived in 2025 as a temporary public art installation on the Marina di Massa pier, has been moved to a very secluded area—specifically, within the Jare district, home to the city’s wholesale produce market and a municipal warehouse—where, according to complaints from the opposition and confirmed by the artist himself, it has reportedly been left in a state of neglect.
The mural was created in the wake of the incident involving the cargo ship Guang Rong, which ran aground off the city’s beaches in January 2025, damaging the Marina di Massa tourist pier. The city had decided to transform what was described as an urban “wound” into an opportunity for cultural revitalization, launching “Massa Street Art,” a project carried out in collaboration with Deodato Arte and under the artistic direction of Artuu Lab. The stated goal was to combine urban art, urban regeneration, and community participation, enhancing public spaces and reinforcing the role of art as a tool for transforming the city. In the first weeks of August 2025, Mr. Savethewall created a 40-meter-long mural live on the concrete geoblocks placed on the pier, facing the ship that had run aground in January of that same year. The project called for the Guang Rong to be incorporated into the composition.
However, the project had already been described as “temporary” in the very first press release issued by the Municipality of Massa . And questions about the mural’s future fate had begun to arise even while the wreck of the Guang Rong was still in front of the pier. The question was what would happen to the artwork once the ship was moved and work on the pier was completed. As early as January 2026, therefore, the Democratic Party had sought clarification from the administration through a question posed to the City Council, specifically asking about the criteria that had guided—or would guide—the selection of spaces designated for the artworks and the schedule planned for their installation. The inquiry also referenced Resolution No. 1528 of July 10, 2025, which had authorized direct management: the council members emphasized that the artworks created as part of the project should be given a permanent and appropriate home.
Now, several months after the initial discussion in the City Council, the minority groups—the Democratic Party, “Massa è un’Altra Cosa,” and the Mixed Group—have once again asked the administration for a definitive statement on the future of the mural and the use of the related public funds. According to the opposition, the artwork is currently abandoned in a space in the Jare neighborhood, in an area characterized by conditions of disrepair.
Among the proposals put forward by the opposition was the idea of relocating the artwork to the site of the former Ugo Pisa summer camp (now a city park), which is undergoing a redevelopment project. The council members are now asking whether this possibility was ever presented to the artist Perretta and what his assessment was.
Meanwhile, the administration had identified a different vision for the mural’s future. In May 2026, in an interview with *La Nazione*, Mayor Francesco Persiani explained that the blocks had already been moved from the pier to the former Jare market and that the idea was to use them, if necessary, as a retaining wall in the event of landslides on the hillside roads. The mayor had presented the proposal as a possible way to transform the artwork into an asset for the city. Persiani, who had just been appointed special commissioner for the pier’s reconstruction, explained that the wall—funded by the municipality with approximately 100,000 euros and removed from the pier—could be used in the event of ground subsidence. In the absence of landslides, he added, its subsequent use on a scenic road would not be ruled out. “We spoke with the artist and agreed that, after numbering it and placing it at the former market, we would use it for an interesting idea: namely, in the event of landslides on the mountainside, it could be positioned as a retaining wall on the mountainside,” Persiani stated. According to the mayor, while the mural was originally conceived to contain crowds in front of the pier, it could later take on a new function in the event of hydrogeological instability. If such an event did not occur, the artwork could have been installed elsewhere.
The mayor also made his views known through a post on his social media channels. Persiani reiterated the temporary nature of the installation: “The mural, innovative in its kind and appreciated by critics and citizens alike, remained on display for over nine months. It therefore fully served the purpose for which it was created. It was subsequently removed to allow for the reopening of the pier and the small square in front of it. And, if you will, pop art even brought us a bit of luck: we managed to have the Guang Rong removed in a reasonable amount of time, to return most of the pier to residents and tourists, and, in the meantime, government funding also arrived to address the damage caused by the shipwreck on January 28, 2025.” At that point, according to the mayor, the administration faced the challenge of how to continue showcasing that artwork (“including by consulting with the artist,” Persiani reiterated: “There were various ideas, and some were discussed directly with Mr. Savethewall”). The mayor also rejects the claim that the artwork is in a state of disrepair: “Meanwhile, just three or four months ago—not five years ago—the artwork was moved to the Jare warehouse. And so here is the account of the ‘tragedy’: the artwork was allegedly abandoned, destroyed, and tossed among weeds and trash, resulting in a waste of public funds. Rest assured. The artwork is intact. There are only a few tiny missing fragments, measuring just a few centimeters, out of a structure dozens and dozens of meters long. The geoblocks are numbered, and the images can be reassembled without difficulty. A little grass won’t do it any harm. This does not mean, of course, that we are satisfied with the conditions in which that area is maintained. Far from it. We have already made it clear that the problem exists and that the administration is addressing it. Periodically, we are forced to intervene to remedy uncivilized behavior and, in some cases, even illegal acts.”
The artist, however, tells a different story: in an interview published on August 19, 2026, also in *La Nazione*, Pierpaolo Perretta said he had discovered by chance that the mural had been moved to Le Jare and found it “parked” among the weeds and near some trash. “I was very surprised to discover that my mural had been left in the weeds and next to trash; it would be nice if it could once again serve the community,” the artist stated, emphasizing that the forty meters of concrete represent a significant part of his professional history and his time in Massa. Mr. Savethewall explained that he did not wish to fuel a controversy, preferring instead to make an appeal regarding the future of the artwork. Among the ideas that have emerged over time, he also mentions using it as a landslide barrier, the possibility of turning it into the subject of a charity auction, or making it the centerpiece of a community-wide art project. The solution he personally hopes for, however, is to showcase the artwork within the urban landscape. “Cities can also be designed to incorporate art as part of their urban landscape,” he said, adding that he would like to see this idea realized to bring together multiple stakeholders and keep alive the original concept of “Massa: Capital of Urban Culture.” For the artist, any option is possible, but the will to carry it out is needed. According to Perretta, there has not even been a discussion with his gallery owner so far. “No one has contacted my gallerist regarding plans to revitalize the wall,” he stated. In his view, any project should be developed through a coordinated effort involving the local government, associations, and the gallerist, with the goal of restoring the artwork as well.
The artist explained that he noticed the mural’s relocation by chance. He was in Pietrasanta with his daughter for a performance and had decided to take her to Massa to show her the mural. When they arrived at the pier, however, the mural was no longer there. It was only then that Perretta discovered it had been moved to the former Jare market and was being held there pending a new location. Yet, according to the mayor’s statements, there is an ongoing dialogue between the city and the artist.
However, little is known yet about the mural’s final destination. The future of the forty-meter-long concrete structure created after the Guang Rong disaster therefore remains to be determined: options range from using it as a retaining structure in case of landslides—as proposed by the mayor—to finding a new urban location, including a potential public art project or other forms of enhancement. Meanwhile, one year after its completion, the mural is located in a produce market (which is itself awaiting redevelopment) and, according to the artist himself, is in need of restoration.
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| Massa: Mr. Savethewall’s mural has been in storage for months; the work’s future remains uncertain |
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