It’s the stuff of an Instagrammer’s dream–and yet it hasn’t become a touristic nightmare. In the colorful Emilia-Romagnan municipality of Dozza, rather, photographable street art has brought a new wave of life and spared the town the depopulation faced by many its neighbors.

Amidst expanses of vineyards 35 kilometers east of Bologna, Dozza’s first houses date back to the 9th century, and the walled fortifications to 1086; right on the border of historic Emilia and Romagna, the medieval village was the site of more than a few battles and conquerings. But it wasn’t until 1960 that the town gained the vibrant visual identity for which it is known (though not to many!) today.