Climate activists glue themselves to famous sculpture at Vatican Museums

Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Two climate activists glued themselves to the base of a famous sculpture at Vatican Museums on Thursday.

The demonstrators glued themselves to the ancient Roman sculpture "Laocoön and His Sons" housed at the Vatican, the activist group Last Generation said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear if the protesters were arrested and their identities have not been revealed.

Last Generation said the activists glued themselves to the sculpture around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, prompting Vatican Museums to evacuate the section of the museum and seized seize mobile phones from "people present in support of the activists."

"I am 26 years old and have a master's degree in History of the Arts. I thought that, at the end of my university career, I would find a job in my field and I would have a stable and peaceful future," one of the activists said in a statement.

"I never wanted to expose myself to this point, interrupting the quiet of a museum and gluing myself to the base of a work, but there are very few options left to be heard by the institutions."

Photos and videos shared by Last Generation showed the activists glued to the sculpture.

According to the Vatican Museums website, the sculpture was found in 1506 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome and immediately identified as the Laocoön described by Pliny the Elder as a masterpiece of the sculptors of Rhodes.

"Our requests. There are two, they are simple and would allow us to take a first step to combat climate change: immediately stop the reopening of disused coal plants and cancel the project of new drilling for the research and extraction of natural gas," Last Generation said.

"Increase solar and wind energy by at least 20GW this year and create thousands of new jobs in renewable energy, helping fossil workers to find employment in more sustainable jobs."