Allegrucci’s Whale Installation at Milan Triennale Destroyed by Fire

Milan: A huge blue papier sculpture of a whale created for the 24th International Exhibition of the Triennale di Milano museum by Italian artist Jacopo Allegrucci was torched overnight.

According to Ansa News Agency, on Monday all that remained was the metal structure of The Whale (La Balena), one of four installations on endangered species that Allegrucci made for the Triennale as part of a project on ‘The Fragility of the Future’.

“This arson attack that destroyed Jacopo Allegrucci’s large Whale at the Milan Triennale is a cowardly, senseless act that strikes not only a work of extraordinary symbolic power, but also the culture, creative freedom and the civil conscience of our country,” said Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli.

“This act of violence and incivility wounds a project that, through art, denounced the fragility of the future and the need to protect endangered species,” he added, expressing “full solidarity with the artist, the Triennale di Milano and all those who worked to bring to life a cultural experience of high value.” Allegrucci is also famous for the floats he creates for the Viareggio carnival.