Blitz of a group of activists around 12 in Rome in Piazza di Spagna. Three people, two men and a woman, poured in liquid black in the fountain of the Longboat. The three, belonging to the Last Generation groupThey were stop by the carabinieri and the police of Roma Capitale. Their position is now being examined, they risk the complaint per damage.
At 11.30 they have poured out of liquid based carbone vegetable in the tub, by Bernini, at the foot of the Trinità dei Monti stairway. «If seeing this black water upsets you – they say – it is 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 the overheating globally within 1.5°C and are instead leading us straight towards a catastrophic increase of at least 2.5°C. This means that extreme events will make our lands uninhabitable. Means that desertification e Drought will soar, causing uncontrolled migration. It means that all of ours will collapse balance, economic and social. There is only one way to curb this race towards collective suicide: stop emissions related to combustible fossils”. «With this action – they conclude – we want to ask the government to stop investing in environmentally harmful subsidies. With this action we invite you not to resign yourself to this death sentence.
Councilor Gotor: “Ecoidiots”
In the meantime, the mayor of Rome Robert Gualtieri and Claudio Parisi Presicce, superintendent capitoline to the Goods cultural. The mayor watched the video of the environmental blitz on the mobile phone by a local police officer. “We’ll take care of that right away harm – he said -, we have to empty and clean up and then these people will have to answer for what they did because they did an act illegal, harmful e very wrong». “I have just heard from Minister Sangiuliano – continued the mayor – who is following the story”. The Councilor for Culture of Rome Capital also intervened: «Using a monument – said Miguel strong – as a background for publicizing one’s ideas, with the result, however, of risking damage, even seriously, to that same monument is an act to be ecoidiot. A senseless gesture that I strongly condemn. In fact, monuments are not stages or theatrical wings, but rather delicate works that need to be treated with attention and respect».
Cleaned up in record time
In the evening, the mayor Gualtieri communicated the cleaning of the monument in record time: “With the reopening of the water jet the full functionality of the Barcaccia has been restored. Water was vacuumed to avoid deposits on the pipes and then a low pressure cleaner removed the stains on the bottom and edges. Only thanks to timeliness of the interventionfirst by the local police and then by the cleanup one, permanent damage was avoided,” he wrote on Facebook.
The mayor: “The right battles, the wrong way”
«Thanks to the Municipal Superintendency, to Zètema, to Acea, to Ama and to the Decorum Office for their rapid and effective operations. Now this magnificent fountain can return to fill the Spanish Steps with beauty. Protecting the environment and fighting climate change are battles we share but not in the wrong and harmful way we do today. Monuments must be respected, protected, loved, because they belong to everyone».