We have seen many times how art can break down walls between different cultures and build bridges by uniting distant countries with different histories. It is precisely for this reason, and with this intention, that “Frammenti di Polonia” was created, a project conceived by the Polish National Tourist Board to promote the heritage of the cities of Krakow and Wroclaw in our country, particularly in our capital city. 

Krakow and Wroclaw are two cities in Poland, the first in the east of the country and the second further west, the former much better known and half-touristy and the latter slowly on the rise, but both share a centuries-old history and a not inconsiderable architectural, artistic and cultural wealth. 

There are countless monuments decorating the streets of these cities, and from the beginning of October, two of them can also be seen in the heart of Rome. No, don’t start thinking about helicopters, planes, cables and absurd ways of moving monuments. Nothing of the sort has happened. Much more simply, the Polish National Tourist Board turned to Sbagliato, an art project founded in 2011 by an architect and two Roman designers. 

For “Frammenti di Polonia” the three artists chose a monument from each of the two Polish cities and reproduced them in two of Rome’s most famous neighbourhoods, Trastevere and Testaccio. 

In Via San Calisto 6A in Trastevere, one can see the reproduction of a bas-relief depicting dancers decorating the façade of a late 19th century building in Krakow’s Kazimierz district, while outside the Testaccio district market, a rectangular frame of a window has been installed through which one can see the Gothic-style windows of Wroclaw station.