Minerva statue at La Sapienza University vandalized during femicide protest

On April 3, 2025, during a student protest against femicides, the bronze Minerva statue by Arturo Martini at La Sapienza University in Rome was vandalized with paint, along with the monumental staircase of the Rectorate and other university spaces. The statue had just been restored and returned to the university community on November 18, 2024, after three months of extraordinary maintenance to correct damage from a 1996 restoration that used unsuitable protective agents. The protest was triggered by the murders of Ilaria Sula, a 22-year-old statistics student at La Sapienza, killed on March 25 by ex-boyfriend Mark Antony Samson, and Sara Campanella, a 22-year-old biotechnology student in Messina, killed on March 31 by Stefano Argentino. Rector Antonella Polimeni stated the damage is extensive and will be covered by the university. The article discusses the broader context of gender-based violence, cultural education, and the debate over vandalism as protest.