Tell me your idea
Even if the idea is still vague, we work on it together. Write to me on WhatsApp or by email, I reply within 48 hours.
Bologna
Mural artist in Bologna
In Bologna, Giulia Dal Bon paints murals with a brush, in flats, hotels, restaurants, offices and shops. Trained at the Brera Academy, she paints on site, from 150 € per square metre. Free quote within 48 hours, two sketches included: you approve the design before Giulia paints.
Contact Giulia
Tell me your idea, and I will be glad to reply.
The price of a mural in Bologna
| Simple motif or line drawingFine lines for flowers, patterns, silhouettes or figures… | 150 €/sqm |
|---|---|
| Fully painted subjectColours and shadows for landscapes, portraits or scenes… | 250 €/sqm |
| Trompe-l’oeil or ceilingThe wall opens onto a false window, a sky on the ceiling or an entire landscape… | 350 €/sqm |
| Exterior facade: if needed, scaffolding is added to the quote. | |
Free quote within 48h
The price is based on the surface and the technique; the quote then takes into account interior or exterior, the condition of the wall, the height, scaffolding if needed and the timing.
Where to start?
When you contact me about a mural in Bologna, here is what happens next.
A photo of the wall with the sketch
Send me a photo of the wall and I draw a sketch straight onto your photo. You tell me what you think. The first two sketches are free.
The quote
Once the sketch is approved, I send you the quote and we set the date together.
I paint the wall
I come and paint at your place in Bologna, by brush, and the place stays open while I work.
Murals in Bologna
Bologna is the most arcaded city in the world, UNESCO-listed since 2021: many porticoes of 19th-century bourgeois palazzi still carry the grotesques, original painted decorations on a white background. In Bologna, Giulia paints for apartments in the centre, restaurants, and shops near the university quarter. It all starts with a photo of the wall and its measurements: Giulia draws the sketch on top, then comes to paint on site.
The subjects of Bologna are chosen in the street: the two leaning towers, the porticoes, the red brick rooftops, San Michele in Bosco, the painted grotesques of the porticoes. Drawn in line they are 150 € per sqm; painted in colour and volume, 250 €.
What Giulia brings to Bologna. Giulia is a painter, trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She exhibits her paintings in art galleries and also paints on walls. Corriere della Sera, Domus and Sky Arte have covered her work, and her mural of more than twenty metres dedicated to Gaber and Jannacci stands in Milan. The wall is her favourite canvas because it truly becomes part of a place, a unique work made to tell your story.
Live painting is available in Bologna too. Giulia arrives with canvas and paints, works through a wedding, a concert, a festival or a company evening, and the painting is yours at the end of the evening. From 950 € for a wedding, from 900 € for a company evening, from 400 € for a performance at a concert. See live painting →
Murals district by district in Bologna
Murals on via Zamboni
The academic porticoes of via Zamboni are among the twelve components inscribed by UNESCO on 28 July 2021, out of 62 kilometres of porticoes in Bologna. Giulia Dal Bon paints bookshop walls, café rooms and portico ceilings on this street, in odourless acrylic: the shop stays open while she works. A listed portico needs a declaration. From 150 € per square metre, free quote within 48 hours.
Murals at Santo Stefano
Piazza Santo Stefano and its porticoes are among the twelve UNESCO components of Bologna, with its palaces and the complex of the Seven Churches. Giulia paints building lobbies, stairwells and restaurant walls here, on surfaces of 10 to 20 m². As the quarter is protected, any exterior goes through a declaration.
Wall painting in the Bolognina
The Bolognina spreads north of the station, a working-class quarter that has become one of the most mixed in Bologna, with its courtyards, old workshops and low buildings. Giulia Dal Bon paints courtyard facades, workshop walls and roller shutters here, in quartz paint outdoors with an anti-pollution varnish.
Murals on the Pratello
Via del Pratello keeps its artisan workshops, its osterie and its low doorways, and it is the street in Bologna where people go out in the evening. Giulia paints osteria walls, shopfronts and inner courtyards here. The odourless acrylic lets service carry on.
Murals on Strada Maggiore
The triumphal porticoes of Strada Maggiore are also among the twelve UNESCO components of Bologna, with their palaces and painted ceilings. Giulia Dal Bon paints ceilings, vaults and hotel dining-room walls here. From 150 € per square metre, free quote within 48 hours.
Your questions, before commissioning
A photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and the idea you have in mind are enough to receive a quote.
How much does a mural cost in Bologna?
Giulia Dal Bon paints by the square metre: 150 € for a line drawing or a simple motif, 250 € for a fully painted subject, 350 € for trompe-l’oeil or a ceiling. A small mural in a bedroom costs less than a facade that needs preparation and scaffolding. The quote is free: see all prices.
How do I commission a mural in Bologna?
Write to Giulia Dal Bon on WhatsApp or by email, even if the idea is still vague: she replies within 48 hours. Send her a photo of the wall to be painted, she draws a sketch straight onto your photo, you tell her what you think, and the first two sketches are free. Once the sketch is approved, she sends you the quote, from 150 € per sqm in Bologna, and sets the date with you. She then comes and paints the mural at your place in Bologna, by brush, and the place stays open while she works.
Does the price of a mural in Bologna include the materials?
Giulia Dal Bon’s price per square metre includes the paint and materials, the first two sketches, corrections during the work and the protective varnish as a finish. Added to the quote, when needed, are the scaffolding for a facade and travel costs, agreed together. The quote is free and arrives within 48 hours; a deposit of about 100 € for materials confirms the date, and the balance is settled at the end.
I’d like a mural or a painting on a wall of my home in Bologna, who should I contact?
Giulia Dal Bon, a painter trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. She paints murals by brush in homes, bedrooms, bathrooms, on terraces, pool walls and facades, and travels in Bologna as she does across Europe. Send her a photo of the wall, its approximate dimensions and your idea, however loose: she replies within 48 hours with a quote and a first proposal. The first two sketches are free.
Can I see a design before commissioning the mural?
Always. You receive a sketch set on a photo of your own wall, to scale, together with the quote. The first two sketches are free: Giulia shows the work in progress, you give your opinion, and she adjusts. You confirm when you are ready.
Will a mural damage the wall?
The paint goes onto the plaster already in place. In most cases a dusting down is all that is needed before starting. If the surface has cracks or rising damp, Giulia points it out before quoting and proposes the preparation required. Indoors she uses an odourless acrylic: a child’s bedroom in use or a restaurant that stays open can both be painted. An acrylic mural can later be painted over like any wall paint, if you change your mind in ten years.
When is the best time to paint a mural in Bologna?
All year round. Indoors the odourless acrylic lets the room stay in use while she works, in January as in July. Outdoors she needs a dry wall and a mild temperature. Giulia sets the date with you when she quotes, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves.
Can a view of Bologna be painted on a wall?
Yes. Three or four landmarks are enough to recognise it. The two leaning towers, the porticoes listed by UNESCO on 28 July 2021, and the red brick roofs seen from San Michele in Bosco. Giulia Dal Bon composes the view for the wall in front of her. As a line drawing, 150 € per sqm; painted in colour, 250 € per sqm. Free quote within 48 hours.
What subject works well for a mural in Bologna?
The most requested subjects: floral and botanical work for bedrooms and living rooms, landscapes for living spaces and terraces, trompe l’oeil for facades and ceilings. Everything is drawn to measure: Giulia offers two free sketches from your idea, and you refine it together until the subject is yours.
What is the difference between a hand-painted mural and spray-painted graffiti?
They are two different crafts. A graffiti artist works with spray cans, with a fast gesture and a graphic finish. A brush-painted mural is built layer by layer, which allows gradients, fine detail and trompe l’oeil: it is a painting made directly on the wall. Indoors, Giulia uses odourless acrylic. And while she paints, people take the time to watch: a brush at work is a show in itself. The choice depends on the finish you are after.
What do you call an artist who paints on walls?
A mural artist, a muralist, a wall artist or a decorative painter, and the art itself is called mural painting or wall art. Some come from graffiti and work with spray cans; Giulia Dal Bon comes from painting: trained at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, she exhibits her paintings in art galleries and paints commissioned murals with a brush. To have one painted, send her a photo of your wall: free quote within 48 hours.
Does a mural hold up outdoors in Bologna?
Yes, with surface preparation and paints made for outdoor use. Under a portico, exposure is more sheltered than on a fully exterior wall, but the surface is always assessed before painting. Choosing the paint and the surface for an outdoor wall in Bologna is explained in the guide Which paint, which wall, how long it lasts.
Do I need permission to paint a facade in Bologna?
An interior wall can be painted freely. For a facade or portico visible from the street, you usually need the owner’s or the building association’s approval, and a notice to the town hall: Bologna’s porticoes are UNESCO-listed and largely protected. Giulia explains the process before starting.
How long does it take to paint a mural?
It depends on the surface, the level of detail and how easy the wall is to reach. Giulia gives the timing with the quote, within 48 hours, and gives plenty of notice if the schedule moves. The place keeps running while she works: the acrylic is odourless.
How long does a mural last?
An acrylic mural lasts a lifetime indoors: the paint becomes part of the plaster and lives as long as the wall. Outdoors, quartz paint is made for facades, and an anti-salt or anti-pollution varnish extends it further. And if one day you want a change, it can be painted over like any wall paint. In Bologna, on a façade exposed to traffic, Giulia can also propose an anti-pollution paint, which turns part of the nitrogen oxides under daylight. The option is priced in the quote.
Other spaces
The other places Giulia paints, her portfolio and the towns nearby.
Homes and villas
A bedroom, a hallway, a staircase: the walls you look at every day.
A mural for your home
Restaurants, hotels, and boutiques
A painted wall gives the room its character, and the place stays open while she works.
A mural for your restaurant
Other cities
From Bologna, the mural can open toward these places.
Florence · Venice · Milan · Forte dei Marmi
The mural of over 20 metres for Gaber and Jannacci, in Milan, in the press
Giulia Dal Bon, trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan.
Where Giulia works in Bologna
In Bologna, whether it is a house, a villa, a second home or a flat, Giulia paints on an interior wall : the living room, the children’s bedroom and the bedroom. She paints the kitchen, the bathroom, the entrance, the hallway and the stairwell just as readily. The ceiling is painted too: that is the €350 per sqm band, with trompe-l’oeil. On the exterior facade, quartz paint takes over from acrylic: it is made for facades. She also paints on a mobile panel, to carry the painting elsewhere.
In a restaurant, a pizzeria, a trattoria, a café or a bar in Bologna, the painted wall is visible from every table. In a boutique and a shop, window and shutter are painted by hand, and change with the seasons. For a hotel and a B&B, she paints the entrance hall and the rooms, one by one. In a hair salon and a spa, she paints the treatment-room walls and the reception area. In a medical practice and a waiting room, she paints the waiting room and the corridor leading to it. For an office and a showroom, she paints reception, the corridor and the meeting room.
In the historic centre, Santo Stefano, Saragozza and Bolognina, you send her a photo of the wall and she draws the sketch straight onto it, then you shape the idea together.
Possible subjects in Bologna: the two leaning towers, the porticoes, the red brick rooftops, San Michele in Bosco, the painted grotesques of the porticoes. And always the trompe-l’oeil window, the botanical motif and the painted sky on a ceiling.
Very different words lead to the same search: mural, wall mural, artistic painting on a wall, wall decoration, mural decoration, decorative painting. Trompe-l’oeil is one form of it, a hand-painted wall and a drawing on a wall are others, and some look for a painting made directly on the wall. Behind those words, one craft in Bologna: mural artist, muralist, wall artist, decorative painter.
Bologna is the most arcaded city in the world, UNESCO-listed since 2021, with a long pictorial tradition in its portico decorations and a lively university quarter.
Giulia also travels to Modena, to Ferrara and to Imola.
Where the mural can find its place
- In an apartment or a house, Giulia paints the living room, the bedroom, the hallway, the entrance and the ceiling. From 150 € per sqm, free quote within 48h.
- In a restaurant, a trattoria, a shop or an office, Giulia paints the dining room wall, the shop window, the sign and the reception. Free quote within 48h.
- Giulia also travels to Modena, Ferrara, and Imola.