Climate activists turn Rome's famous fountain black, arrested

Rome [Italy], May 7 : A group of climate activists in Italy have poured what they described as "a charcoal-based black liquid" into the water of Rome's famous fountain 'Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi', CNN reported on Sunday.

The Fountain of Four Rivers, as is known, is a famous monument located in the famed Piazza Navona square in Rome, the Fiumi Fountain was designed by Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1651.

Italy's Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano condemned the activists' protest saying those responsible must "pay out of their own pockets."

"Our future is as black as this water," the group called Ultima Generazione, or Last Generation, said on their website, according to CNN.

Images showed protestors standing in the fountain's water up to their waists while donning orange vests.

As dozens of bystanders took pictures, they unfurled orange banners with a message in Italian that read, "Our future is as black as this water."

The same group of environmentalists is thought to have orgsed protests at other Italian historical landmarks, such as the Barcaccia fountain in the heart of Rome, where they poured dark liquid into it on April 1, CNN reported.

Similar demonstrations took place in places like the Vatican museums and Florence's Uffizi galleries when protesters glued themselves to works of Italian art.