A 33-year-old homeless Egyptian man was arrested by State Police for arson after setting fire to Jacopo Allegrucci’s whale sculpture outside the Triennale di Milano this morning.
Police officers arriving at the scene spotted the man walking away, and bystanders identified him, leading to his apprehension. Before being taken to the police station in a car, he made incoherent statements. He was subsequently placed under arrest.
The targeted artwork, “La Balena” (The Whale), was a giant blue papier-mâché cetacean created by Allegrucci for the 24th International Exhibition at the Milan Triennale. Installed for the exhibition opening on May 13th, it was one of four endangered animal sculptures featured. The installation formed part of Allegrucci’s project “The Fragility of the Future”; the artist is also renowned as a master craftsman for Viareggio’s Carnival floats.
Culture Minister Giuli condemned the attack, stating: “The arson that destroyed Jacopo Allegrucci’s great whale at the Milan Triennale is a vile and senseless act that strikes not only a work of extraordinary symbolic power but also the culture, creative freedom, and civil conscience of our country. This gesture of violence and incivility wounds a project that used art to denounce the fragility of the future and the need to protect endangered species.”
Minister Giuli expressed “full solidarity with the artist, the Triennale di Milano, and all those who worked to bring this high-value cultural experience to life.”
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