The idea is not mine, it belongs to Stefania Mastrosimone who, a while back, wrote an article for Vanilla Magazine about this topic: in ancient Rome, walls were the equivalent of our social media. And oh! how right she is! While today we associate graffiti either with street art or, well, vandalism, depending on the talent of its authors, once upon a time it was how people gossiped and informed one another. 

It is really like that: in the bustling streets of ancient Rome, graffiti was more than mere scribbles on walls: these writings were the Facebook and Twitter –pardon me, X — of their time, where citizens expressed love, hatred, political views, and even advertise services and products.