Decrypting Italian Graffiti Symbols
March 7, 2007 12:44 PM 
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Italian graffiti: questions about two common symbols in modern spray art.
There are two standouts I'm curious about.
The first is what could be described as a "rifle sight": a circle overlaid by an overlapping cross. This symbol most often stands alone and is pretty common. It's not the Anarchist's circle-A but I thought perhaps it was related. I've got no clue as to what this one's about.
The second I know is loosely translated as "basso" or "down with" and looks like two overlapping V's and always used in conjunction with whatever we're wishing down and sometimes shown inverted in what I understand is the reverse -- "up with". I've been able to figure out (obviously) the "what", here, but is anyone familiar with the etymology? Perhaps some clarification on its use? I -thought- I saw it used formally in a town where a nice cloth banner read "VV the class of 88" or so and that didn't quite jibe so maybe my guide for this information was only partially correct in her understanding.
posted by baklavabaklava at 1:36 PM on March 7, 2007