Visitors and residents of Rome witnessed an extraordinary sight on Saturday when three climate activists paraded the well-known Baroque fountain (Fontana della Barcaccia) under the Spanish Steps. Two men and a woman dyed water black to protest fossil fuels.
The Ultima Generazione, or Last Generation, movement has already claimed activists who have been arrested and are awaiting charges for damaging a public monument and breaking into a fountain. This is due, for example, to last year accidentswhen its members held the base of one of the statues in the Vatican Museums or the base of a work by Sandro Botticelli Primavera in Florence.
“It is absurd to be offended by such a gesture when we are suffering from an extraordinary drought which threatens agriculture and energy production… In short, our livelihood.” I wrote group on Twitter. “Those in power are wreaking havoc far worse before our eyes.”
Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, visited the fountain on Saturday and said the attack on the fountain had nothing to do with fighting climate change and protecting the environment. We share that struggle, but not in such a bad way to fight it. Antiquities must be respected because they belong to everyone.” Call on his Twitter profile.
The fountain was drained after the activists were arrested, and a cleaning crew was called into the fray to carry out a thorough cleanup. Although the memorial is already fully functional, remnants of black paint can still be seen on it. Despite the permanent damage, according to the mayor did not happenThanks for the timely intervention.
Climate activists from the Last Generation movement dyed the water at Fontana della Barcacia black in Rome on Saturday as part of a protest against fossil fuels.
The famous 17th-century boat-shaped fountain was designed by the famous Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini, and is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome.
“It is absurd to be offended by this gesture when we are suffering from an extraordinary drought that threatens agriculture and energy production… In short, our livelihood,” the activist group wrote on Twitter.
Last year, the same group stuck to the base of one of the statues in the Vatican Museums, Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece “Primavera” in Florence, or the “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” sculpture in Milan.
However, the movement also operates outside the borders of Italy. As the Deustche Welle website states, for example, the group’s activists staged several demonstrations in Germany as well. During them, among other things, they stuck to the roads.
The water was drained from the fountain on Saturday to prevent the stone from absorbing paint, and a thorough cleaning was carried out. The fountain is currently fully operational, but paint residue is still visible on it.
“The attack on the Barcacia Fountain has nothing to do with fighting climate change and protecting the environment. We share this fight, but not in such a bad way to lead it,” the mayor of Rome responded to the event on Twitter.
The activists ended up in custody and awaiting charges of damaging a public memorial and breaking into a fountain.
However, even the black color did not stop tourists from taking pictures.
The famous 17th-century boat-shaped fountain was designed by the famous Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini, and is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome.