Let´s add more off-the-beaten-track places to your Spain Travel Bucket List. Fanzara is a small village in the Spanish province of Castellon with the most amazing story behind it. To start with, embracing graffiti and street art has saved it from disappearing …
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Fanzara Graffiti Village in Spain
Where is Fanzara?
The history of Fanzara
These days Fanzara is considered one of the top graffiti villages in Spain, but years ago, it was facing a threat of complete disappearance from the region’s map.
Home to around 300 people, Fanzara was on the verge of joining the list of Spain’s dying villages. Unfortunately, this is not an issue unique to Fanzara; many regions in central Spain are part of the so-called España Vaciada (or the Empty Spain), where most inhabitants are retired seniors, and younger generations migrate to cities in search of better opportunities, particularly jobs. However, what sets Fanzara apart is the way locals have responded to this problem. Around 15 graffiti artists were invited by the younger generation of locals to transform the streets into an open-air museum. Thanks to their incredible work, this small village gained a unique identity and has become a must-visit destination for street art lovers in Spain.
My impressions of Fanzara
The citizens of Fanzara are some of the kindest and friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Being a small village where everyone knows each other, locals quickly recognize newcomers and are eager to help in any way they can. In my experience, while I was taking pictures, a local woman approached me and kindly offered some helpful tips on must-see spots, making my visit even more enjoyable.
Is Graffiti an Art?
It’s no secret that graffiti is officially prohibited in most places around the world, and many people either don’t understand this form of expression or don’t see it as art at all. I agree that something as simple as the word “hi” scrawled on a wall is probably not art. However, every piece by Fanfara is undeniably a work of art, as are the murals at the East Side Gallery in Berlin, and many others worldwide. There’s often a disconnect between generations: explaining the beauty of a modern graffiti piece to your grandmother might be challenging. Now, imagine an elderly local explaining the meaning behind a particular piece of graffiti to you! – Only in Fanzara. I find it so inspiring how the older, more conservative locals in Fanzara supported the younger generations with this (unusual) initiative, which ultimately transformed the streets into an open-air gallery. In just a few weeks, what was a dying village turned into a cultural triumph. Fanzara ended up being different and unique
If you love street art, don’t miss this Flipboard collection of mine.
Fanzara continues to attract more and more art lovers every day. Its murals are designed to be repainted regularly, reflecting the evolving story of the village. I absolutely loved my time here and am excited to share Fanzara’s story with people around the world. After all, who wouldn’t agree that art, in its essence, is eternal?
Video from Fanzara
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This post is linked up with The Weekly Postcard and Feet Do Travel
First time I hear about this place! I am glad residents got creative on how to attract people to the village. I hope there are great places to eat around. That would be a killer combination (graffiti + food).
Thanks for stepping by, Ruth!
Good food is also one of my concerns, ALWAYS [lol] Luckily for me, in Spain the less touristic places always have the most amazing, local, homemade foods…<3
I love street art and always visit it when I can. I’ve pinned this to my Street Art pinterest board. What a fun little city. I looked it up and it is tucked away in the mountains pretty far from the main cities. It looks like it would be worth a detour if you are doing a road trip between Zaragoza and Valencia.
Hey Shobha! Fanzara is such a hidden gem, a”must see” in Spain for all the modern art lovers! There is no big city nearby, but you could add to your route places like Montanejos, Vilafames… The area is full of charming little villages, quite unknown internationally yet!
What a cool story! I love street art and that’s such a cool idea what this town did to revive itself. I’ll definitely have to add it to my list of places to go in Spain!
Thanks Natalie! I so loved their story as well <3
Wow, this is so interesting. I’ve never heard of this place. But I have to admit that I’ve never been to Spain so far. Your photos and the artworks are amazing! Keep it up and thanks for sharing !
Thank you, Claudi!
I love it! This town sounds so inviting and the graffiti looks stunning.
Thank you, Ava! It is really a great place!
Omg that street art is amazing!!! What a cool area
Thanks, Cloe!
Oh my gosh I’m obsessed with graffiti art! You’ll have to come visit Los Angeles since there’s so much of it here too! Thanks for sharing
Thanks, Kana! Been to LA twice and haven´t seen its graffiti art! will ask you for the directions next time!
This sounds like such an interesting place, a real gem. I love grafitti if it’s done nicely and I definately see it as artwork. Some of these are really beautiful! #feetdotravel
Thanks, Charlotte!
What an inspiring story of a village community! I’ve never heard of it, of course, though I love out-of-the-way places. Beautiful! Yes, graffiti can be just graffiti or it can be street art; well, I guess just like art in any medium can be just drawing and scribbles or well, art. I love this post, thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard and #FeetDoTravel
Thanks for stopping by, Emese!
OMG this is amazing!! I am a lover of 1) Spain and 2) Street art and I’d LOVELOVELOVE to explore Fanzara, it would be totally worth the detour for me. Thank you so much for this awesome tip!
#TheWeeklyPostcard
Thanks for stopping by, Esther! Glad this post was useful to you!
Wow! What an amazing place. Such a creative way to attract people. I love street art, so now I am dying to go to this village. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Thanks, Anisa! Hope you´ll get a chance to visit soon!
Wow, what a fascinating story and the power of street art and social media is just amazing! Just to think it would have eventually become a ghost town! Sad though that only because its become kitschy that people want to go. Would have been nice if it had gotten the attention it needed prior! #FeetDoTravel
So agree: would have been better if it didn´t come to this point of “nearly becoming a ghost town! But it´s great that locals were able to save their homes anyway!
I love street art, and this is some of the best I’ve seen! Definitely a reason to visit this tiny town! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Thank you, Cynthia!
What a fun place to visit! I love the story of the dying town coming back to life with art. And the different generations worked together. Quite the place — and now I’ve heard of it and can keep it in mind for a vist!
Thanks, Sharon! I find the story so inspiring as well!
Wow, what a cool graffiti. Haven’t heard for Fanzara before, but will definitely put it on my next year Spain travel itinerary. 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!
What a great find! We love street art so would love to visit Fanzara. Thanks for sharing this wonderful place! #feetdotravel
Thanks for your comment, Paul and Carole!
I have never heard of Fanzara, but I love Street Art! Whenever I travel somewhere new, I always research if there is street art to look at, so this place would definitely be of interest to me – I love it! Thank you so much for sharing, pinned! #feetdotravel
Same here – I often feel like the local street art reflects the “true face” of any city! Thanks for stopping by!
Such a great testament to the power of street art! Fanzara is right up my alley, but I never would have heard of it otherwise. Thanks for sharing this cool village and all that awesome street art! #TheWeeklyPostcard
This is awesome! You’re right – never heard of Fanzara, but instantly wanted to go. Some of the artwork is just fantastic. Glad the village found a way to become culturally relevant in a new age, and that the residents embraced it. Great story!
I am a big fan of communities who embrace Street Art so I am a big fan of Fanzara without having even heard of it. LOL! I’ll certainly put Fanzara on my list of places to visit. 🙂