Tomorrow Black Lives Matter event at the Livorno Moors, fears for the masterpiece: should it be protected?

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 13, a demonstration will be held in Livorno in solidarity with George Floyd, the 48-year-old African American killed in Minneapolis last May 25 during a police stop, and with all victims of racism and abuse of power. The nonpartisan event is held at 5 p.m. in Micheli Square, in front of the statue of the Four Moors, a bronze masterpiece by Pietro Tacca (Carrara, 1577 - Florence, 1640), created between 1621 and 1626, which exalts the victory of Ferdinand I de’ Medici (celebrated by Giovanni Bandini’s marble statue) over the Barbary corsairs, represented as four slaves who died in chains at the feet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. This, in fact, is how the defeated pirates were reduced: slavery was after all widespread at the time, and was practiced both by the Knights of St. Stephen, who enslaved the victims of their corsair exploits, and by the Barbary corsairs who plundered the Italian coast and enslaved their victims in turn. It is an undisputed masterpiece of the early seventeenth century, representing a work, wrote art historian Franca Falletti, “where the bare modeling of bronze achieves a tactile evidence that is perhaps as close to Bernini as was produced on Tuscan soil.”

The event, from which partisan symbols are banned, naturally pursues noble ends: “the abuse of power by the police,” the organizers wrote in a statement, “is a problem that we cannot but consider our own as well. Cases like those of Stefano Cucchi, Federico Aldrovandi, Riccardo Magherini and many others represent a sad constant of abuse in Italy. In the square, therefore, in solidarity with African Americans, who have always been victims of racist incidents, but also to build a bridge that ideally unites in an embrace anyone, in every corner of the planet, who has suffered abuse and acts of violence. We will also be in the square to oppose the hypocrisy of so many individuals and parties that are riding the wave of an anti-racism that does not belong to them: it is necessary now more than ever to reiterate that our struggles are against police abuse of nonwhite people, as much as against those who, like Minniti, make agreements with Libya and legitimize the existence of real lagers for black people, as well as against those who carry out fascist and anti-immigration policies and allow the death of thousands of people every year at sea.”

Given, however, the events of the last few days, the numerous cullings that have occurred in the UK and the U.S., but also the defacements that have been observed in Turin, Italy, there is now fear for Tacca’s masterpiece, because it cannot be ruled out that someone might deface or damage it as has already happened in other places. The organizers have already reassured that the garrison is totally peaceful and that the statue will not be touched. However, this does not detract from the fact that individuals unrelated to the event and animated by other intentions could intervene to disrupt order, as has happened elsewhere.Social users are therefore already in an uproar over what could happen to the sculptural group. In London, despite Mayor Sadiq Khan’s expressed intention to carry out a complete overhaul of monuments in public spaces, the disputed statue of Winston Churchill, already the subject of some actions in recent days, has been protected with some panels ahead of a demonstration to be held tomorrow. Perhaps it will not be appropriate to do the same in Livorno?

Obviously, this does not detract from the fact that we all hope that things will go well and that the event may represent an important moment of insight into the monument and its value, as well as, perhaps, the beginning of a reflection on the role of public statuary in Italy.

Pictured is a detail of the monument.

Tomorrow Black Lives Matter event at the Livorno Moors, fears for the masterpiece: should it be protected?

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