Last Friday a great public work of art that has stood as a symbol of Rome for hundreds of years was defaced. A man in a hat reportedly approached the fountain in the crowd of tourists and dumped a bucket of red dye into Trevi Fountain, dying the water a blood red.
The fountain recirculates the water in its basin and through the jets of water it shoots into the air, allowing the dye to permeate the entire fountain quickly. Authorities believe the stunt has not caused permanent damage to the marble statues of the fountain.
Pamphlets were left at the scene claiming that the action was committed by the "FTM Futurist Action 2007", which is an organization the authorities have never heard of before. According to the leaflets the group claims to battle "everything and everyone with a spirit of healthy violence" as well as turning the "grey bourgeois society into a triumph of color." It also pointed to the poor state of the elderly in Italy, as well as the amount of public money that was spent on restarting the Rome Film Festival.
The fountain recirculates the water in its basin and through the jets of water it shoots into the air, allowing the dye to permeate the entire fountain quickly. Authorities believe the stunt has not caused permanent damage to the marble statues of the fountain.
Pamphlets were left at the scene claiming that the action was committed by the "FTM Futurist Action 2007", which is an organization the authorities have never heard of before. According to the leaflets the group claims to battle "everything and everyone with a spirit of healthy violence" as well as turning the "grey bourgeois society into a triumph of color." It also pointed to the poor state of the elderly in Italy, as well as the amount of public money that was spent on restarting the Rome Film Festival.
A suspect has been arrested in the case who claims innocence but agrees with the spirit behind the action. He also agrees with the leaflet, saying “My mother is 84 and gets €700 pension a month. To pay for medicine she pays €40 each time. Do you think it’s right she should also pay for Monica Bellucci’s hotel room?”
The water in the fountain was stopped, drained and cleaned. No permanent damage is apparent at this time. Unfortunately, a copy cat crime has already occurred in Piacenza, defacing a small fountain opened last year.
The water in the fountain was stopped, drained and cleaned. No permanent damage is apparent at this time. Unfortunately, a copy cat crime has already occurred in Piacenza, defacing a small fountain opened last year.
