Restored at a price

It may not look like much but this is part of the ancient wall at Orihuela of which some sections date back to the 12th century.

Last year someone decided it was to his or her canvas for a piece of graffiti. Now it has been cleaned off at a cost of 1,647 euros and the hope is that it will stay that way. The hope also is to catch the person(s) responsible.

Graffiti is a serious problem in Spain as it is in other countries. The “artists” show no respect for property and will spray whatever surface they see fit.

Admittedly, some items of graffiti have artistic merit but most are just hideous looking scrawlings, presumably a version of someone’s name. It is a bit like animals marking their territory with urine. The other items of graffiti you commonly see take the form of messages; “Pedro loves Maria” or “Louisa is a prostitute” – information that we could well live without knowing.

Maybe, like all things fashionable, daubing public places with paint will become a thing of the past but sadly the scars created will last a lot longer.