Apparently vandalizing precious artworks continues to be the trend with activists. As if attempting to deface paintings wasn’t enough, the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome has come under attack. Activists known as Ultima Generazione dumped diluted charcoal into the fountain’s water, turning the crystal blue inky black. An action that could have significantly damaged the 18th century Baroque fountain.
These activists were an Italian branch of the German group Letzte Generation. Remember the Monet smeared with mashed potato? Or activists gluing their hands to roads, thus blocking traffic for several hours? That’s them. Clearly there’s little difference between the tactics of their Italian counterparts. But as with many of the most recent atrocities against famous artworks and sculptures, these activists are doing little to endear people to their cause.
The Message Drowns in Outrage
Obviously shock and spectacle is a primary way to garner attention. The ire of onlookers gets diverted by outrage towards defacing priceless artifacts. The message of climate crisis is lost. The Trevi Fountan is 261 years old, and there’s no telling what the charcoal will do to it. To say nothing of the time, effort, and money being spent on now draining and cleaning it.
Worse still, this isn’t the first fountain that Ultima Generazione has attacked. Both the Fountan of Four Rivers in Piazza Navona and the Barcaccia Fountain near the Spanish Steps were attacked as well. The activists are apparently fighting against the use of fossil fuels. They decry that the world is dying, blaming the recent flooding that’s displaced 36,000 Italian citizens on climate change. They aren’t wrong. But the clean-up they leave behind, especially for these fountains, is going to cause an extensive use of water and various resources that we can’t generally afford to waste.
Mayor Roberto Gaultieri tweeted about the incident, saying “Enough of these absurd attacks on our artistic heritage. Today the #FontanadiTrevi was smeared. Expensive and complex to restore, hoping there is no permanent damage. I invite activists to compete on a confrontational terrain without putting the monuments at risk.”
