Mural at Manavika – Trikala

Walking through Manavika in Trikala, once a neglected neighborhood that has transformed into the city’s equivalent of Athens’ Psyri, Gazi, and Ladadika districts, you suddenly come across a mural covering an impressive 150 square meters. At first glance, you realize it’s a mural, but if you’ve enjoyed a drink or two at one of the local tavernas, you might even try to walk into the narrow street it depicts—so vivid and three-dimensional is the painting.

The artistic intervention fits seamlessly with the neighborhood’s character. It captures various architectural styles found in the city alongside everyday scenes—musicians playing on balconies, children at play, and a grocery store where housewives do their shopping. The mural gains a timeless quality by prominently featuring the great Trikala folk bard, Vasilis Tsitsanis.

This project was part of the international program “Integrated Urban Development Interventions in Small-Scale Local Areas,” supported by the Thessaly Regional Operational Program and the Technical Service of the Municipality of Trikala. The realization involved collaboration among SACVL company, electricians from THE company, and the painters of the renowned artistic collective “CitéCréation”. Founded in 1978, CitéCréation is composed of 50 painters who have created hundreds of similar murals worldwide—from Barcelona and Moscow to Mexico and Quebec.

Their goal is to capture memories, traces of history, and fleeting everyday moments. In cities like Lyon and Jerusalem, where similar projects exist, guided bus tours are organized, turning murals into important tourist attractions. The locals in Trikala agree: “Walls are like a second skin for residents.” And they take pride in this “second skin.” After all, it’s no small thing for their city to be listed among some of the world’s most important urban centers hosting such “architectural illusions.”