Palazzo Vecchio Vandalized

Palazzo Vecchio suffered an act of vandalism on the morning of March 17, 2023. The Latest Generation, the environmental group liable for the today’s crime, also responsible for defacing the headquarters of the Tuscan Regional Council just one month ago, used fire extinguishers.

Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence, who happened be in Piazza Signoria, and municipal police officers quickly blocked the two environmental activists minutes after they sprayed orange paint on the medieval facade of City Hall. Tourists in the square at the time of the event booed at them in disapproval.

The environmental group justified their actions because of the Senate Budget Committee’s most recent decision to reject modifications of a bill that would have cut back on spending destined to prevent negative environmental impact. If the bill had passed, 500 million euros would have been used to improve the state of the environment.

Nardella began cleaning the wall right after he was finished blocking the perpetrators who vandalized the façade. He quickly mounted a mobile scaffolding already in the square and helped the workers get the ancient stone wall back to its normal state.

“They are barbarians. This is not how protests should be carried out, civilization should always be defended,” said Nardella.

Thankfully, there were restorers already in the square working on a nearby landmark. After the incident occurred, they intervened and were able to tell those cleaning how to do so correctly and effectively by using water to remove the paint.

It was later reported that an estimated €30,000 worth of water was used in the cleanup, during a water shortage due to lack of rain.

The event, geared criticizing political decisions, has sparked a new controversy regarding damaging protests. Local politicians have put forward a proposal that will worsen the consequences for those who take part in wall vandalism. (Parker Hurley)