Italy: Luana remembered in Rome mural by Jorit

Rome: A mural dedicated to Luana D’Orazio, the young factory worker who died in a workplace accident in Tuscany last week, has been created in Rome.

The mural, located at the ex-Snia site in the Pigneto Prenestino district, is the work of Neapolitan street artist Jorit, known for his giant urban portraits of George Floyd, Antonio Gramsci and Diego Maradona.

The face of 22-year-old Luana was portrayed in the trademark style of Jorit, who has just completed a mural of Bobby Sands in the capital, to raise awareness of the risks of “companies that put profit before the lives of workers.”

The death of D’Orazio, who left behind a five-year-old son, shocked Italy and prompted calls for measures to increase safety in the workplace.

D’Orazio was dragged into a rolling machine and crushed to death in a textile factory near Prato on 3 May, two months after a similar accident in another textile factory in Tuscany cost the life of 23-year-old Sabri Jaballah.

Another mural highlighting safety in the workplace, by Rome steet artist Laika, has appeared in Largo degli Osci in the S. Lorenzo quarter. The mural features a veiled woman in hard hat and overalls with a sign that reads (in Italian) “The next one could be you.”

On Friday afternoon trade unions organised a four-hour strike and a rally in Prato to protest over “inconceivable and intolerable” deaths in the workplace.