After the Barcaccia fountain at the beginning of April, the Trevi fountain. Environmental activists colored the basin of the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome in black on Sunday (May 21st), saying that the death of fourteen people in the floods that devastated northeastern Italy was a "warning" about climate change.

Activists from the organization Last Generation, which is multiplying actions to denounce the inaction of governments in the face of climate change, climbed into the fountain and spread a black plant-based liquid in the water before leaving, escorted by the police.

Mattia, 19, who did not wish to give her last name, participated in this action "because the terrible tragedy that has occurred in recent days in Emilia-Romagna is a warning foreshadowing the black future that awaits humanity".

Giorgia Meloni in Emilia-Romagna

More than 36,000 people have been displaced as a result of flooding in the northern Emilia-Romagna region. The equivalent of six months of rainfall fell in thirty-six hours this week, causing in this rich agricultural and tourist region the "floods of the century". Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Emilia-Romagna on Sunday to visit the weather-ravaged places.

Last Generation began taking action in Italy in 2022, ahead of the general election, to call on leaders of all political parties to make the climate emergency their priority.

Last Generation activists then multiplied actions across Europe, throwing soup, mashed potatoes or washable paint on the windows protecting famous paintings displayed in major museums or cultural heritage sites.

With AFP

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