The famous Trevi Fountain in Rome has just turned black!
Climate activists in Italy poured vegetable-based carbon liquid into the fountain around 11:30AM on Sunday and chanted "our country is dying."
Photos surfaced of the protestors standing in the dark water with signs before police waded through to remove them.
Many tourists crowded around, taking photos, and either applauded or booed.
Ultima Generazione (Last Generation), an anti-climate change activist group have released a statement saying eight protestors from the 'Let's Not Pay For Fossil' campaign were there to demand an immediate end to public subsidies for fossil fuels.
This protest has now been linked to deadly floods in the northeast of the country that killed 14 people.
“I’ve decided to do civil disobedience because the horrible tragedy experienced in these days in Emilia Romagna is a warning of the dark future that awaits humanity, made up of drought alternating with increasingly frequent and violent floods,” said a 19-year-old woman named Mattia about the protest.
On Sunday, the fountain was drained to be refilled.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri has confirmed 300,000 litres of water would be “wasted” to do so.
“Thanks to the timely intervention of the local Rome Capital Police they [the protesters] were stopped immediately and were able to pour only two of the many jars they had with them."
Mr Gualtieri claimed it appeared there was no damage.
“The charcoal fortunately appears to be deposited on the surface of the waterproof bathtub and not on the porous marble, so it will probably be able to be removed completely."
“But the risk of worse damage was once again significant. I reiterate, that this is not the right way to conduct a battle for the environment and against climate change.”
This protest arose as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Emilia Romagna to visit areas devastated by floods that have been described as the worst in a century after six months worth of rains fell in 36 hours.
Over 36,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, with costs in the hundreds of millions of euros.
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