Climate activists target Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’

FLORENCE

Italian activists stuck photographs of climate change devastation to a glass panel protecting Botticelli's famed Birth of Venus painting at the Uffizi museum in Florence on Feb. 13.

Two activists from Last Generation posted images of a flooded Tuscan town over the goddess' giant shell on the 15th-century work, before being escorted to a police station, the campaign group said in a statement.

"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," one of the protesters, Giordano, was quoted as saying.

"And instead of dealing with these real problems, it makes absurd laws" punishing climate activism, he said.

Italy's parliament in January approved a law increasing penalties for people who damage monuments and cultural sites, following a series of climate protests.

In November, a judge in Florence ruled two activists who in 2022 glued their hands to the glass surrounding another Botticelli painting, also in the Uffizi, had not committed a crime.

The Last Generation organisation began carrying out peaceful but disruptive protests in Italy in 2022 ahead of the general election, urging politicians from all parties to make climate change their priority.

According to the European Commission, Italy is on track for significantly higher emissions than those set in its 2030 target.

The protests in Italy are part of a series of actions across Europe to focus attention on climate change.

Activists have thrown soup, cake, mashed potatoes and washable paint at heritage and culture sites and artworks in museums.