Ecovandals bill is law: penalties of 10 to 60 thousand euros for those who deface or destroy cultural property

The Sangiuliano bill on damage against cultural property, also known as the “eco-vandals bill,” is law: the Chamber of Deputies approved today, with 138 yes, 92 no and 10 abstentions, the government-initiated bill (it was in fact proposed by Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano) concerning “Sanctioning provisions on the destruction, dispersal, deterioration, defacement, defacement and illegal use of cultural or landscape heritage.”

The law stipulates that anyone who destroys, disperses, deteriorates or renders all or part of cultural or landscape property owned by himself or others useless or unusable shall be punished with an administrative penalty ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 euros. On the other hand, penalties ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 euros are provided for those who deface or deface cultural property to a use detrimental to its preservation or integrity or to a use incompatible with its historical or artistic character. Proceeds from the fines will be reallocated to the Ministry of Culture to be used as a priority for the restoration of the property. The manner of allocation and management of the proceeds of administrative fines related to these offenses shall be defined by a decree of the Minister of Economy and Finance adopted in consultation with the Minister of Culture. Within thirty days of the notification of the assessment report, the offender is allowed to pay the penalty in a reduced amount. However, the application of the reduced penalty is not allowed if the recipient of the sanction has already made use of the same option in the previous five years.

This new law is part of a regulatory framework related to Law 22 of 2022, which introduced into the Criminal Code a new title, dedicated to crimes against cultural heritage, consisting of 17 new articles, by which theft, embezzlement, receiving stolen goods, money laundering and self-laundering, and damage involving cultural property are punished, with harsher penalties than those provided for the corresponding simple crimes. Article 518-duodecies of the Criminal Code, in particular, regulates the crime of destruction, dispersal, deterioration, defacement, defacement, and illegal use of cultural or scenic property. The conduct of damaging and destroying cultural property is punishable under Article 518-duodecies by imprisonment of two to five years and a fine of 2,500 to 15,000 euros, while defacing or defacing cultural property is punishable by imprisonment of six months to three years and a fine of 1,500 to 10,000 euros. The law introducing the administrative penalties of 20 to 60,000 euros and 10 to 40,000 euros specifies that the collection of the fine or administrative fine is limited to the portion exceeding that collected by the administrative or judicial authority, respectively.

“I thank the Parliament for the work done, first the Senate and today the House, for finally being able to reach this fundamental milestone,” said Minister Sangiuliano. “Today is a good day for Italian culture and, in particular, for the nation’s artistic and architectural heritage. With the final approval in Montecitorio, the ’eco-vandals’ bill, which I strongly wanted, becomes law, establishing a pivotal principle: from now on, those who cause damage to the cultural and landscape heritage will be forced to pay out of their own pockets the cost of the expenses for the full restoration of the works. Those who are responsible for vandalizing national art and monuments, the heritage of our identity and humanity, should know that they will be directly liable for it from a patrimonial point of view. These are, in fact, administrative sanctions that can be immediately imposed by the prefect of the place where the act is committed, on the basis of complaints by public officials. It is then good to remember, once again, that to strike at art is also to harm nature, because by virtue of the anthropization of the landscape some places or monuments have become an integral part of our cities. The task of the state, as stated in Article 9 of the Constitution, is to preserve this unique and precious resource that we have a duty to protect and preserve for future generations.”

Reactions

“With this measure,” declares Federico Mollicone (FdI), chairman of the Culture Committee at the Chamber, “no one prohibits the right to protest in the civil and expected forms. Enough of the media narcissism of groups like Ultima Generazione, who have the right to demonstrate for the future of the planet but in a positive way by cleaning the beaches as we did with the unforgettable Paolo Colli. This measure fills the gaps in the Franceschini-Orlando law and updates the issue of cultural heritage security.”

“Good the approval in the House of the law against ecovandals, wanted by the Minister of Culture, Sangiuliano, which will finally punish with harsher penalties those who damage, destroy, deface and deface cultural and landscape heritage,” says Maurizio Gasparri, Forza Italia group leader in the Senate. “More decisive action against vandals who create these often irreparable disruptions is important. The government shows once again that it knows how to act with the right measures as in this case by protecting our priceless historical and cultural heritage.”

“It was a proposal strongly desired by the League and has finally become law,” says Matteo Salvini (League), Minister of Infrastructure. “You deface works of art and monuments? Pay a fine immediately.”

“Today in the House chamber we are witnessing yet another securitarian move by this majority with measures that we can define ad personam,” says Laura Boldrini (Pd), “and that do nothing but restrict the freedom of dissent and demonstration. A law protecting cultural heritage already exists, wanted by ministers Orlando and Franceschini: toughening penalties with criminal and administrative sanctions is just a repressive flag. After the rave party kids, the NGOs saving lives at sea this time, in the crosshairs of the right-wingers are the girls and boys of Last Generation, accused of ’violence’ for roadblocks and damaging cultural heritage when, in fact, no monuments have been subject to permanent damage. The truth is that they do not tolerate dissent and resort to criminal laws to suppress it. The real damage to Italy’s cultural heritage is done by the cuts made by this government. Or Undersecretary Sgarbi being investigated for money laundering of cultural heritage, which hurts, he does, Italy’s reputation. When, years ago, with the support of the League, Sardinian shepherds blocked the roads against milk quotas, and when then the so-called ’pitchforks’ blocked the highway toll booths (and we could go on and on), no one thought of repressing dissent by toughening the penalties with ad hoc measures. These right-wingers should be reminded that there is no democracy without freedom of demonstration and nonviolent civil disobedience.”

“We would also be willing to tolerate the majority’s promise of uprightness and legality when it presents propagandistic measures like this one against the defacement or deterioration of cultural property,” says Riccardo Ricciardi (M5S). “Except that the majority should also do so with an undersecretary of Culture accused of stealing a painting, with a minister who stops trains at will, with a minister of Tourism who does not pay her employees, with corruption suspects in the center-right who pop up every couple of days, the latest being the governor of Sardinia, with deputies who shoot New Year’s Eve in the company of an undersecretary. And in all this the founding father of the center-right was convicted and for that reason excluded from Parliament. This is what you are, with what face do you call for rigor and legality with your propaganda?”

Ecovandals bill is law: penalties of 10 to 60 thousand euros for those who deface or destroy cultural property

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