Two Italian climate activists have been fined more than $30,000 in restitution after damaging an ancient statue in the Vatican last year.
Guido Viero and Ester Goffi are both members of the Ultima Generazione, an environmental group that has been associated with climate protests across Europe in the past few years. Last year, on August 18, the two activists entered the Vatican Museum and glued their hands to the base of the statue Laocoön and His Sons. They also waved a pink banner saying (in Italian): “Last Generation: No gas and no carbon”. Another protester, Laura Zorzina, filmed the act. The two were soon apprehended while the Vatican security unglued their hands from the statue.
Laocoön and His Sons is an ancient statue, believed to have been carved in Rhodes, Greece around 40 BCE. The statue was discovered in 1506 and has been at the Vatican Museum ever since. Ultima Generazione later issued a statement, explaining why they specifically chose that statue. According to them, just as Laocoön tried to warn fellow Trojans against the wooden horse left by the Greeks was ignored, the scientists and activists of today are also getting ignored for their warning about climate change.
The prosecutors had initially requested a sentence of two years along with a fine of €3,000 ($3240) each. However, they also added that if the court wanted to suspend their sentences, the protestors should be asked to pay the full cost of the renovation of the statue. The Vatican Court agreed with the notion, thus sentencing the two to pay a total restitution of $30,000 (along with 9 months of suspended sentence). They were additionally fined $1750 each, while the videographer Zorzini was fined $130.
