Environmentalist protest in front of the David at the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Discomfort for visitors

Disruption for visitors to the Accademia Gallery in Florence due to an environmentalist protest by Last Generation activists: it happened late yesterday morning, Sunday, April 7, coinciding with Sunday at the Museum, the Ministry of Culture’s initiative that provides free admission to state museums and cultural sites on the first Sunday of the month. This time no glue or paint: some activists sat in front of the David and unfurled a banner with the words “Reparation Fund,” others chained themselves to the protective railing of the famous sculpture. Activists played De André’s May Song, and distributed leaflets about the Campi Bisenzio flood. “The courage of the young David against the giant Goliath represents the power that every person has to be able to stand against the injustices of power and the powerful,” the activists said. Carabinieri from the Uffizi Station responded to the scene: the museum remained temporarily closed to allow the activists to be identified.

Last Generation calls for the creation of “a preventive, permanent and participatory Reparations Fund to be provided for annually in the state budget. The money will have to be obtained through the elimination of Environmentally Harmful Subsidies (SAD), the taxation of the extra-profits of fossil fuel companies, the cutting of bonus salaries and benefits to their managers, of the enormous expenses of politics, and of the ever-increasing military spending. That is why we will continue to take to the streets, to take actions of nonviolent civil disobedience, taking responsibility for our actions, facing repression, courts and trials.”

“I thank the carabinieri who promptly intervened to ensure normal access to visitors. The art on display in the Accademia Gallery in Florence is pure beauty,” said Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Accademia Gallery. “The protest of the environmentalists, without discussing their reasons, has nothing to do with the works kept in the museums. Seeking visibility at the expense of others by restricting their rights should be, to any civilized person, an inappropriate action, against the law. We are extremely sorry to all those who could not get in today on Free Sunday or had to wait for hours in line. People who came from outside specifically, organizing with families, with children, and stayed outside for no justifiable reason. Let’s not talk about the internal staff who made themselves available on Sunday to drop off families to make it possible for the museum to be open to the public.”

Environmentalist protest in front of the David at the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Discomfort for visitors

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.