This Saturday (1st), a group of activists against the climate crisis poured a black coal-based liquid into the historic Barcaccia fountain, in Piazza Spagnain the center of Rome, and displayed a banner demanding an end to investments in fossil fuels.
The protest colored the water in the fountain and took place in the presence of several people, including tourists and residents, who passed through the square, considered one of the monumental symbols of the Italian capital.
The activists, two men and one woman, belong to the group “Ultima Generazione”, which claimed responsibility for the vandalism on their social networks. “It is absurd that you are scandalized by gestures like this when we are experiencing a drought emergency that puts agriculture, energy production... our very subsistence in crisis. And there are those responsible,” the protesters wrote on Twitter.
The group, which was booed by thousands of people, was detained by the carabinieri from the “eternal city” and could be sued for damage to public property. “If seeing this black water bothers you, it's because, like us, you recognize how precious what we are losing is. All official reports, even those from government sources, denounce that government policies are insufficient to contain overheating to 1,5°C and are instead leading us directly to a catastrophic increase of at least 2,5° C”, stated the activists.
According to him, “this means that extreme events will make our lands uninhabitable. This means that desertification and drought will increase, causing uncontrolled migration. This means that everyone will collapse, our balances, economic and social.” “There is only one way to stop this race to collective suicide: stop emissions related to fossil fuels”, they argue.
Finally, the protesters emphasize that, “with this action, we want to ask the government to stop investing in subsidies that are harmful to the environment. With this action, we invite you not to resign yourselves to this death sentence.”
The mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, went to the Piazza di Spagna and reiterated that the acts are wrong because "we must not harm our heritage."
We are a city strongly committed to the environment, we want to achieve climate neutrality. We share the issues of raising awareness among citizens about the risk of climate change, but this is not the correct method”, he declared during the on-site inspection.
For the mayor of the Italian capital, “it is not by risking damage to our heritage that we help the environment”.
Built between 1626 and 1629 In travertine marble by the sculptor Pietro Bernini, father of Gian Lorenzo, the fontana della Barcaccia is a baroque fountain located below the Spanish Steps. Its name refers to its shape of a half-sunk boat with water gushing from the walls. (With information from HANDLE).
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