Climate activists in Italy were dragged away by museum staff after they glued their hands to Botticelli's iconic 'Primavera' painting, video shows

Protestors from the action group Ultima Generazione glue their hands to the glass covering Sandro Botticelli's La Primavera at Uffizi on July 22, 2022 in Florence, Italy.

Laura Lezza/Getty Images

• Two climate activists glued their hands to the protective glass of the iconic "Primavera" painting.
• A video showed the activists being dragged away by staff at the Uffizi Gallery in Italy.
• An activist group claimed responsibility, calling it "nonviolent civil disobedience."

Climate activists were dragged away by museum staff in Italy after they glued their hands to Sandro Botticelli's iconic "Primavera" painting.

A video of the incident posted to Twitter shows two protestors that each glued their right hands onto the protective glass covering the Botticelli painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

A third person helped the protesters unravel a banner that said "Ultima Generazione No Gas No Carbone" or "Last Generation, No Gas, No Coal," The Guardian reported. 

The two activists near the painting were later dragged away by museum staff, according to the BBC. A video shows the pair going limp and lying on the ground as they were dragged away. 

The activist group Ultima Generazione tweeted videos of the incident and claimed responsibility for the demonstration. 

—Ultima Generazione (@UltimaGenerazi1) July 22, 2022

 

"Many criticize our actions because 'we should leave museums in peace,'" the group tweeted. "Maybe they don't understand that the inconvenience we created is nothing compared to 1 billion climate migrants and to the many deaths that the climate crisis is causing already."

In a statement on their website, Ultima Generazione said their demonstration was an act of "nonviolent civil disobedience to continue to put pressure on the government to make more courageous choices to face the climatic and social collapse underway," according to a translation. 

The group is called Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) because they believe they are the last generation who can act to reverse the effects of climate change.

Laura Lezza/Getty Images

Two women and one man were detained by police following the incident, according to The Guardian. They face multiple charges including defacing property and staging an unauthorized demonstration, according to the magazine Wanted In Rome.

A spokesperson for the Uffizi Gallery did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the incident. 

Similar acts of protest have been reported in Europe before. In May, a man disguised as an elderly woman smeared Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" with a pastry. The activist said he did it because people "are destroying the planet."

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