On Thursday, two people made headlines after they glued their hands to a statue in Rome’s Vatican Museums – the statue of Laocoön and His Sons – and unfolded a banner reading ‘No Gas, No Coal’.

This was only the latest in a series of demonstrations staged by environmental group Ultima Generazione (Last Generation), who have regularly featured in the news for more than two months now – usually after glueing themselves to one of Italy’s famous artworks.

In July, activists from the same group stuck their hands to the glass protecting Botticelli’s Primavera at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.

The group began protesting by staging sit-ins on Rome’s Highway A90 (commonly known as ‘Grande Raccordo Anulare’) in early June, but has since moved on to target public museums and galleries – though the significance here is less obvious.

On the back of the latest protest, many wondered what exactly the link was between the environmental cause and the famous artworks involved.

Un gruppo di attivisti #ambientalisti del gruppo #UltimaGenerazione ha diffuso giovedì un filmato di una protesta andata in scena ai #MuseiVaticani, dove gli attivisti si sono incollati a una famosa statua.#19Agosto pic.twitter.com/84x7FYCqE1

— Tutti i fatti (@Tutti_i_fatti) August 19, 2022

Ultima Generazione began in 2021 as a “campaign of nonviolent civil disobedience” aimed at uniting Italian campaigners concerned about climate change and the future of the planet.

The name Last Generation stems from its members’ belief that the current generation of world citizens is the last one with a real chance of changing the status quo before the ecological damage inflicted on our planet becomes irreparable. 

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According to the group’s website, they have two main demands. Firstly, they ask that the reopening of old coal power plants be paused immediately and that all scheduled fracking operations be cancelled. 

Secondly, they want an increase in the use of solar energy and wind power equivalent to at least 20 gigawatts. 

📌Le nostre richieste:
1) stop alle riapertura delle centrali a #carbone e stop a nuove trivellazioni per #gas naturale
2) incremento di energia solare ed eolica di 20 GW nel 2022 con la creazione di migliaia di nuovi posti di lavoro #rinnovabili #clima #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/vTWanuYObA

— Ultima Generazione (@UltimaGenerazi1) June 5, 2022

After the Uffizi protest, the group published a note explaining the reasons behind their association with the art world.

They said that “the country should see to the protection and wellbeing of the planet […] in the same way in which it defends its artistic patrimony”.

Aside from the above connection, Ultima Generazione activists have also been known to draw specific parallels between popular artworks and the current socio-political climate. 

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For instance, the statue of Laocoön and His Sons was targeted earlier this week because, the group explained, much like Laocoön, scientists and activists looking to warn the public about the “consequences of today’s actions” are not being listened to or, even worse, “they are being silenced by politicians”. 

For the sake of context, according to Greek mythology, Laocoön was the Trojan priest who advised his fellow citizens not to let the wooden horse – a gift from the Greeks – into town. His advice was disregarded and Troy later fell at the hands of the Greek soldiers hidden in the horse.

It isn’t clear when or where the next Ultima Generazione demonstration will take place, though, back in July, the group said they would target museums in Florence, Venice, Milan and Rome.