MILAN—Climate-change activists in Italy on Wednesday threw paint at the entrance of Milan’s famed La Scala opera house ahead of the opening performance of the season, local police said.
Activists have staged high-profile protests across Europe in recent months, sometimes targeting museums and art works.
The Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) movement said in a statement they were responsible for the Milan episode.
“Instead of taking the necessary measures to safeguard Italy’s future from drought and climate disasters, politics is locking itself away to enjoy a show for a few people,” it said.
Over the last month, Ultima Generazione has hurled soup over a Van Gogh work in Rome, thrown a black liquid on a Gustav Klimt painting in Vienna, and flour over a sports car painted by the U.S. pop artist Andy Warhol that was on display in Milan.
Police said they had detained five people following the incident at La Scala, while cleaners swiftly removed the paint from the entrance of the theatre.
La Scala opened its 2022–2023 season on Wednesday, one of the highlights of the Italian cultural calendar, with a performance of the Russian opera “Boris Godunov.”
It was attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
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