Walk with me: Galleria Garibaldi, the station shopping plaza, and Cracking Art Group's snail "Station Invasion" ~

The snail, symbol of slowness, a quiet and small creature but also a colourful piece of art!
Walk with me as I’ll virtually take you to Galleria Garibaldi station shopping plaza which looks special at the moment thanks to the Cracking Art Group’s exhibit called “Station Invasion”.

You don’t know my surprise when, one day during an early morning, I’ve found the first snail, a big fuchsia snail outside Piazza Garibaldi station.

I knew these modern art creations before, someone could just think of them as big, out of scale toys. I was in a hurry, I was late, I had to go to the UNiversity but I still remember my joy and fun that morning! But there’s more, that was just a taste!

Directly in front of the main Neapolitan train station and, at a lower ground floor, two rows of stores and stores and grey metallic trees, part of the new shopping centre, for the “Station Invasion” have been climbed (and still are) by these silent animals. It isn’t a joke, they are the iconic snail statues by the Italian artistic team known as “Cracking Art Group“.

Small snails trying to reach the top of the grey scaffoldings, while bigger ones, green and fuchsia, wait for the people who arrive, pose, snap or just rush to take the last metro.
I can describe it has a mix of motionless life and a vibrant concept.

The snail has been chosen not just for the slow way in which it moves, presenting a slow reclaiming of the metropolitan jungle, but for a special capability it has and all beauty conscious girls and women know. Snails can regenerate damaged portion of their shell.

In fact, these snails are made of recycled plastic and have a deep meaning based on the idea of “REgeneration”: regeneration of urban spaces, thus Cracking Art Group’s snails are an artistic and ethical way to interact with the city centre.
The snail also symbolizes the human ears and the fast communication (@), despite old and snubbed, a snail is a concentrate of important meanings.

The “Station Invasion” exhibit by the Cracking Art Group has a great merit, it makes the shopping plaza, otherwise grey and cold, a place full of life and colours, a remarkable piece of Naples to enjoy slowly and worth a visit.

If you can, take your time and have a walk at the Galleria Garibaldi.

Meet the 2-meter-tall snails and embrace the slow side of life but… they won’t be there forever, they’ll wait for you till 15th January.