The Chamber definitively approved - with 138 yes votes - the bill to convert the decree which introduces more severe sanctions for those who deface or deface cultural and landscape assets. The measure, which has the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano as its first signatory, had already been approved by the Senate on 11 July.

New rules put in black and white after repeated cases of vandalism against works of art or historic buildings, often carried out by climate activists (one of the most "famous" raid cases was that against Palazzo Vecchio in Florence ). Fines also amounting to thousands of euros are expected .

The centre-right majority is satisfied: «It will finally no longer be possible to pass off vandalism as politics. The approval of the bill that increases the penalties for those who deface a monument and introduces the crime of defacement established by the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano re-establishes a clear line of demarcation between the first and the second, between hooligans and true ecologists", he comments Paolo Emilio Russo, group leader of Forza Italia in the Constitutional Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies. Adding: «The battle to preserve the environment and for increasingly sustainable development is a just, legitimate and shareable battle, but it can and must be conducted without causing damage. It is in fact possible to raise awareness among legislators and public opinion even without damaging works or disfiguring buildings and facades, which then must be restored and cleaned at the expense of the community. The new fines from 10 thousand to 60 thousand euros will be used to create a fund at the Ministry of Culture for the restoration of assets. In short, finally those who make mistakes pay ."

The opposition has a different opinion: «The Meloni Government is resistant to legality: it abolishes abuse of office, intervenes on the statute of limitations and today rejects our provocative amendment which would have increased the penalties for public officials who deface works of art, in reference to what was done by Undersecretary Sgarbi who defaced a canvas by adding a candelabra. We have revealed the hypocrisy: penalties are increased for young people, for workers who occupy the streets, but not for public officials like Sgarbi. For this Government, the law is not the same for everyone", states the deputy of the Green and Left Alliance, Angelo Bonelli .

«The real intention of this provision is not to protect the Italian cultural heritage, the intent of the Meloni government is merely punitive. The Ultima Generazione kids were acquitted for what happened at the Uffizi in Florence. It is clear then that you want to change the current rules to ensure that a dispute can be punished. You want to silence the freedom of expression of thought and dissent, this is the arrogance of power", commented the M5S deputy Carmela Auriemma during the discussion of the amendments to the bill.

(Unioneonline/lf)

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