ABOVE: Artist’s very poor conception of what the Sistine Chapel could look like if Italians and their government don’t act soon to preserve their precious masterpieces. A new campaign depicting defaced artworks is trying to turn the tide.

Ask a fish how the water is, and it’ll probably look at you through the aquarium wall with a vacant look in its eyes, because a) fish are stupid, and b) fish don’t think about the water that much, because it’s everywhere. In a narrow sense, and mostly in the second sense, it’s the same with Italians and their classical masterpieces. Romans can’t spit without hitting an architectural masterpiece or a Botticelli sculpture, which litter the landscape. The result, writes the Independent, is a desensitization to the wonderment all around them, and a consequent neglect.

Cittaitalia, a group dedicated to preserving the ubiquitous beauty of Italian culture, unveiled today a campaign designed to jolt their countrymen from their long slumber. The campaign of street posters, print ads, and television spots depicts various Italian masterpieces in states of gross disrepair: Michaelangelo’s David is missing a leg and must be supported by a scaffold; Leonardo’s Last Supper has had all the disciples erased; Botticelli’s Venus Rising has been slashed to bits. Below is a plea to save Italy’s cultural heritage, and, coincidentally, a phone number to call with cash donations.

LINK: The Independent > Art treasures under threat: Trashing Michelangelo