Rome, the blitz at the Trevi Fountain dirty the image of the capital. Tourists against eco-vandals: “Shame on you”

To cover up their protest, well before local police officers dived into the The Trevi Fountain to get them out of the water, the firm and decisive condemnation of passers-by and tourists arrived. And it was the boos and reproaches shouted from the square – “shame on you” – that reaffirmed how what happened yesterday, in one of the best-known monuments of the capital, is an act to be condemned and not to be supported in the name of freedom of thought which, in exercise which the whole city and not only was forced to attend, did nothing but offend the constitutionally guaranteed principle. “If a historic asset like this is damaged in protest – a local trader commented yesterday – we are faced with a real involution”.

THE FACT
But a lot has happened again, after the episodes that weeks ago saw other historic fountains of the capital as protagonists, namely Bernini’s Barcaccia in Piazza di Spagna and the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona which turned pitch black. The “Last generation” activists do not stop, yesterday, in the early hours of the afternoon, immersed themselves in the work designed by Nicola Salvi by dissolving vegetable charcoal in the water. Once again, as already done in Piazza di Spagna, after having blocked traffic on more than one occasion on the Grande Raccordo Anulare and after having also lowered themselves with ropes on the Tangenziale Est, the activists have returned to the attack but this time for themselves it is no longer just a matter of complaints. There is the feeling of a city with numerous tourists who, by attending the “show”, have condemned its ways. Nine have been traced between those who had immersed themselves and those who supported along the edges of the monument. They will be denounced net of their justifications which, even now, pass for accusations against a government guilty, according to them, of investing billions every year in fossil fuels.

THE REACTIONS
A real “act of vandalism”, agreed all the political forces: from the majority to the opposition through those who govern the capital. «You can protest, it is legitimate, even a duty. But not with a wrong, dangerous and harmful method, which affects precious common goods like our monuments», commented the mayor Roberto Gualtieri on his way to the Trevi Fountain yesterday and launching an appeal to activists. Their actions «force many people, distracting them from other work, to come here, spend hours, wasting water and electricity, subjecting the monuments to stress. It’s a wrong thing. There is a risk – added Gualtieri – of damaging the monuments and the public administrations are forced to carry out costly restoration interventions, with a lot of waste of water. It is completely counterproductive to the battle. If then to restore the environment is damaged from a communicative point of view, there is an obvious contradiction ». Firm condemnation also by the councilor for economic development Monica Lucarelli: “It is not by disfiguring the monuments that the planet will be saved”. Thanks to the timely intervention of the traffic police, the activists (some of whom were already involved in the previous protests) were able to pour only two containers of coal into the water but the damage, in terms of costs and time to restore normalcy, was in any case excruciating .

COSTS
Because the Trevi Fountain was naturally emptied and thus “Three hundred thousand liters of water – concluded the mayor – Restoration works are always expensive and have a significant environmental impact”. Technically, once the fountain was emptied it was cleaned with a low pressure technique so as not to affect the monument and then filled again. The operations went on until late in the evening. “It’s a tired ritual, we will join as a civil party in this process too – the comment of the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano – I’m sure that Parliament will soon want to approve the provision that will make them pay the huge costs that the community sustains every time” . Fortunately, the Fountain has not reported any damage at the moment and this is also thanks to the fact that the coal was deposited on a waterproofed layer of the Fountain and directly on the marble. However, analyzes and surveys will have to be carried out.

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