A group of environmental activists has thrown mud on the façade of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice this Thursday, a protest that ended with the arrest of at least six people.

Several of the activists have used fire extinguishers to throw mud on the south façade and a column of the basilica, located in the central San Marco square of the Italian city. Next, several more joined together to display a banner that read ‘Reparation Fund’, a campaign promoted by the organization Ultima Generazione.

Through her social networks, she has claimed the action: “They may arrest us allbut that will not change the fact that their lies will soon take their toll,” the organization wrote on X (formerly Twitter), where it calls for the establishment of “a climate disaster repair fund.”

The maintenance staff of the church itself has been able to clean much of the dirtbut the architect of the basilica, Mario Piana, who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, has harshly condemned this action of protest, according to the ‘RAI’ channel.

He mayor of VeniceLuigi Brugnaro, has also expressed his discomfort on social networks for an action that he considers “very serious and shameful”. “It is legitimate to express disagreements, but always with respect for the law and our cultural and religious heritage,” said Brugnaro, who criticized “vandalism” as a method to “find solutions” in environmental matters.