Banksy leaves mural in Venice, Superintendence files complaint, prosecutor asks for dismissal

It had caused discussion about the mural that British street artist Banksy had left in Venice’s rio Ca’ Foscari (in one of the city’s busiest areas) during the days when the Venice Biennale opened in mid-May. The work had been claimed by Banksy himself, who had posted a photo of his Naufrago child on his Instagram profile. The Superintendency of Venice, as a due act, had filed a complaint by lodging a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which then opened a file against unknown persons for violation of the Cultural Heritage Code: the law, in fact, requires that in order to intervene on the facades of listed buildings, authorization must be requested from the Superintendency. That of the body was therefore a due act: the complaint specifies, moreover, that Banksy’s is a work of art (so if the owner wanted to restore the facade he would have to detach the work in order to proceed with its conservation).

The bottom line is that, according to the Superintendent’s Office, what we saw in Venice would, yes, be an “illegally made defacement,” but it would also have a certain artistic value and would not cause damage to the building. In addition, there is the fact that it would be impossible to trace the name and surname of the author. Thus, in the past few hours, prosecutor Federica Baccaglini asked for the mural to be archived, although the final decision will be up to the judge for preliminary investigations.

In the photo, Banksy’s mural

Banksy leaves mural in Venice, Superintendence files complaint, prosecutor asks for dismissal

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