They wanted to “set an example for the black future that awaits mankind,” they said. When police arrived, the four activists were removed and taken away, Italian media reported.
“The future is as black as this water”
Police found that climate activists poured diluted biochar into the basin of Bernini’s “Fountain of the Four Rivers,” one of Rome’s most popular monuments. “Our future is as black as this water: there are difficult years ahead of us, but if we don’t reduce emissions to zero immediately, they will be terrible,” the activists said.
Roman mayor Roberto Gualtieri condemned the action. “This is another senseless act of defacing monuments in Rome. You don’t save the environment by jeopardizing artistic heritage,” Gualtieri wrote on Twitter.
In April, three young activists poured the same liquid into the so-called Barcaccia fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps. They had also smeared paint on the facade of the Senate beforehand.
Investigations into “criminal conspiracy”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet passed a decree in April that provides for the payment of damages of 10,000 to 60,000 euros and “criminal sanctions” for those who “destroy, soil or deface” cultural assets. In the northern Italian city of Padua, members of the climate protection movement are being investigated for “criminal conspiracy”. The group has been responsible for roadblocks and defacing of private and historic buildings since 2020.
