Famous Murals Around the World

A photo tour of the world's great painted walls, from a Roman villa near Pompeii to a stretch of the Berlin Wall painted in 1990. Each photo shows the mural itself, whole or in its defining section, and each caption says who painted it, when, what it shows and why it matters to the building it lives in. The test for a place here is simple: a wall painting famous enough to plan a trip around, still seen where it was made. That is why the Renaissance frescoes sit beside Maya battle scenes, Buddhist cave paintings and the Mexican muralists. Canvases made for a wall, such as Guernica, are left out, as are mosaics and Banksy's street art, which have galleries of their own. The order is chronological, so you can follow how artists have used walls to teach, flatter, protest and celebrate.