The Italian activists, protesting against climate change, targeted Botticelli’s famous Birth of Venus painting which has been exhibited at the Uffizi museum in Florence.
The activists stuck photographs of climate change devastation on a glass panel which was protecting the painting on Tuesday (Feb 13).
In a statement, the campaign group Last Generation said that their two activists posted images of a flooded Tuscan town over the giant shell of the goddess on the 15th-century work before they were escorted to a police station.
“The government continues to pretend that fields did not burn in January, that water will not be a problem this summer, that houses destroyed by floods are accidental events and not caused by human choices,” said one of the protesters, Giordano.
“And instead of dealing with these real problems, it makes absurd laws” to push climate activism, he said.
Art vs Activists
In January, Italy’s parliament approved a law which increased penalties for people who are caught damaging cultural sites and monuments, after a series of climate protests have been reported.
In November, a judge in Florence had given a ruling that the two activists, who in 2022 had glued their hands to the glass which was around another Botticelli painting in the Uffizi, did not commit any crime.
In 2022, the Last Generation organisation started carrying out peaceful protests in Italy before the general election and appealed to politicians from all parties to place the issue of climate change on their priority list.
Watch: Climate activists hurl soup at Monet’s ‘Springtime’ painting in Lyon
As per the European Commission, Italy has remained on track for comparatively higher emissions than those which were established in its 2030 target.
In Italy, the protests have been carried out as part of a series of actions across Europe which focus attention on climate change.
Soup, cake, mashed potatoes and washable paint have been thrown by the activists at artworks, heritage and culture sites in museums.
(With inputs from agencies)
