“It is the blood of the victims” The message of these Italian activists is clear. They denounce violence against women, by covering, this Wednesday, June 26, the staircase of the Trinity of the Hills with bright red paint, on the famous Spanish Steps in Rome.
Six activists from the Italian group “Bruciamo Tutto”, meaning “Let’s burn everything” in French, were arrested by the police following this demonstration. According to them, they used children’s paint, therefore washable.
« Let’s burn everything »
They held up sheets of paper listing recent victims of femicide. “It is their blood, a massacre that society refuses to see (…) as if it were normal to die at the hands of your own husband, partner or son,” declared an activist, according to a press release from “Bruciamo tutto “.
The group’s name is inspired by the words of the sister of Giulia Cecchettin, a university student killed by her ex-boyfriend last year in a case that sparked pain and anger across Italy over violence in towards women. “Do not observe a minute of silence for Giulia, but burn everything,” Elena Cecchettin said at the time, calling for a cultural revolution.
The Spanish Steps cleaned “subito”
The staircase, designed by the architect Francesco de Sanctis between 1723 and 1726 and dominated by the Church of the Trinity of the Hills, is one of the most emblematic monuments of the Italian capital. “A cleaning intervention made it possible to prevent irreversible damage to the monument in time,” explained the municipal authorities.
Protesters, often climate activists, are increasingly targeting cultural sites in their campaigns to gain more publicity. Last week, activists from the English association “Just Stop Oil” sprayed an orange substance on Stonehenge, a prehistoric site listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The government of far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has stepped up sanctions against people who damage monuments and cultural sites.
