ITALY APPROVED FIVE-FIGURE FINES FOR MONUMENT AND ART VANDALISM

Fri 19 January 2024:

Italy approved a law on Thursday to introduce penalties up to 60,000 euros (65,000 U.S. dollars) on those who damage artworks and historical monuments.

In a series of protests, activists in Italy have in recent years spilled paint into Rome’s Trevi Fountain and Venice’s Grand Canal, dumped soup on an iconic painting by Vincent Van Gogh and glued their hands to a work by Botticelli, hoping to call authorities’ attention to climate change and other environmental issues.

Authorities said these acts had incurred high cleanup costs and caused disruptions.

The new law imposes fines of up to 40,000 euros for those who deface monuments, and the amount will increase to up to 60,000 euros if a cultural heritage item is destroyed.

Last year, Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said that it cost the government €40,000 to clean the façade of the 15th-century Palazzo Madama, which is home to the Italian Senate, after it was vandalized. Just days ago, activists pressing for more action on climate change dumped black dye into the waters of a monumental fountain sculpted by Bernini at the foot of the Spanish Steps.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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