Mariella Pazienza, sister of comics artist Andrea Pazienza, is asking local institutions — especially the Municipality of Naples — to give her brother's large mural a permanent home in a museum.

The appeal, reported by ANSA Campania, centers on preservation and public access: after decades outside a museum setting, the work faces a long period of limited visibility and insufficiently documented conservation.

A work made in three hours

The mural was created live at the 1987 Comics Fair at the Mostra d'Oltremare in Naples.

According to ANSA and MAXXI, Andrea Pazienza painted it on 2 May 1987 directly on the wall, in approximately three hours and without preparatory sketches. ANSA reports dimensions of approximately 7 metres by 3 metres.

Detachment, restoration and return

The mural's later history has been marked by moves and restoration.

After being detached and restored in 2010, the mural was moved to another pavilion of the Mostra d'Oltremare that was later used by Enel as a historical archive, ANSA reports.

It was later exhibited at MAXXI in Rome after a further restoration paid for by the museum, then returned to the Mostra d'Oltremare.

MAXXI has also documented the work's creation, history, neglect, restoration and promotion, presenting the mural as a monumental work tied to Naples in 1987.

Why a museum

The central issue raised by the appeal is conservation outside a museum setting.

Mariella Pazienza's request is for the mural to be placed in a museum, with the Municipality of Naples identified as a principal interlocutor. The sources do not establish whether the Municipality or another institution has formally accepted responsibility for a permanent museum placement.

No specific museum or venue proposed as the final destination is confirmed in the sources.

Timeline: what the sources establish

  • 2 May 1987: Andrea Pazienza creates the mural at the Comics Fair at the Mostra d'Oltremare in Naples, working directly on the wall in about three hours without preparatory sketches.
  • 2010: The mural is detached and restored, then moved to another Mostra d'Oltremare pavilion later used by Enel as a historical archive.
  • Later: After a further restoration funded by MAXXI, the mural is exhibited at MAXXI in Rome.
  • After Rome: The mural returns to the Mostra d'Oltremare.
  • November 2026: Mariella Pazienza appeals to local institutions, especially the Municipality of Naples, for placement in a museum.

What remains unclear

Several points are not specified in the available sources:

  • The mural's exact current storage, conservation conditions and public accessibility after its return from MAXXI.
  • Whether any institution has formally committed to a permanent museum placement.
  • The final destination, with no specific museum confirmed as the proposed venue.

ANSA gives dimensions of 7 by 3 metres, while MAXXI search material describes the work with different dimensions; that discrepancy should be checked against conservation or exhibition records.