© Sarahbeth Maney / USA TODAY NETWORK
Syndication: Detroit Free Press
ROME (AP) — Environmental activists have tossed pea soup on a Vincent van Gogh painting in Rome to protest carbon use and natural gas extraction.
Security intervened immediately and removed the protesters kneeling in front of “The Sower” at the Palazzo Bonaparte to deliver a manifesto on Friday. The painting belongs to the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands and was on loan for a show in Italy’s capital featuring works by Van Gogh.
Officials said the 1888 painting was covered in glass and undamaged. Italy’s new culture minister condemned the protest.
Climate activists have staged similar protests have taken place at museums in Britain, Germany and elsewhere in Italy, targeting works by Van Gogh, Botticelli and Picasso.
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