Climate activists pour black paint into fountain at Spanish Steps in Rome

AFP The climate activists have poured a black liquid into the fountain

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 16:49

Climate activists in Rome have colored the water in the famous fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps black. Three members of the action group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) poured a vegetable black dye into the seventeenth-century Fontana della Barcaccia fountain. The three activists have been arrested.

The fountain on the Piazza di Spagna, which was already beaten up by Feyenoord supporters in 2015, has the shape of a boat. The fountain by sculptor Pietro Bernini is said to be a reference to the flooding of the Tiber in 1598. According to tradition, a boat washed into the square, which is said to have been the source of inspiration for the fountain.

The climate activists also refer to that flood, making a comparison to “the end of the world” that humanity is moving towards according to the group. “If you are shocked to see this black water, it is because you realize – like us – how precious it is what we are losing,” said one of the activists before the police intervened. “With this action, we invite you not to submit to this death sentence.”

Smearing works of art

Ultima Generazione has been calling on the Italian government for some time to stop environmentally harmful subsidies, for example for fossil fuels. The group denounces Italy’s climate policy, which is said to be seriously lacking. The activists have been warning for some time that climate change could make parts of Italy uninhabitable and, for example, could lead to uncontrolled migration by climate refugees.

The protest action in the Piazza di Spagna resembles similar actions by other climate activists. In recent months, groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have regularly smeared artworks with dyes or food or, for example, glued themselves to them to draw attention to climate change.

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