Tourists in Verona, Italy, are increasingly using chewing gum to leave their mark on the 13th-century walls of Via Cappello. This phenomenon follows a trend of "gum walls" that originated in Seattle's Pike Place Market and has since spread to locations like San Luis Obispo, California .
The 13th-century walls of Via Cappello become a new gum target
Travelers visiting Verona are now utilizing chewing gum to leave tributes near the Casa di Giulietta, famously known as Juliet's Balcony.. As reported by the source , these visitors have shifted their focus to the Via Cappello street after previous graffiti in the nearby courtyard was cleaned and made inaccessible to the public.
The location serves as a major tourist draw where visitors pay 15 euros to approach the balcony. While the structure is a 20th-century construction , it was built using 13th-century marble, meaning the accumulation of gum poses a direct threat to the aesthetic and physical integrity of the historic masonry.
A trend born in Seattle's Pike Place Market
The global phenomenon of "gum walls" is thought to have begun in the early 1990s in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle Gum Wall, situated near the Pike Place Market, has grown into a massive installation that measures eight feet in height and over 54 feet in width.
This American trend has expanded to other major cities, including the creation of "Gum Alley" in San Luis Obispo, California. According to the report, the Seattle site currently holds an estimated one million pieces of chewed gum, despite the city's efforts to use industrial steam machines at 280 degrees to remove it.
Dr. Ellen Welch warns of bacteria risks on these murals
Medical experts are raising significant hygiene concerns regarding these tourist-driven installations. NHS GP Dr. Ellen Welch told the Daily Mail that walls covered in gum from hundreds of different people act as potential hotbeds for bacteria.
Dr. Welch advises travelers to avoid touching or adding to these walls to prevent the spread of various illnesses. The source notes that the Seattle wall requires frequent cleaning not only for hygiene but because the organic buildup is known to attract pests to the area.
Will Verona officials follow Seattle's 280-degree steam cleaning model?
It remains uncertain how the city of Verona intends to manage the growing accumulation of gum on Via Cappello. While local authorities successfully cleaned the courtyard of graffiti, the shift to chewing gum presents a much more adhesive and difficult challenge for municipal maintenance teams.
The report does not clarify if Italian officials have planned any specific interventions or if they will allow the "tributes" to remain. Whether Verona will attempt a large-scale cleaning or simply increase restrictions near Juliet's Balcony remains a key unanswered question for the city's tourism management.
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