Vandal sets fire to Jacopo Allegrucci's paper-mache whale outside Triennale Milano

Early Monday, July 14, 2025, a 33-year-old homeless man set fire to Jacopo Allegrucci's paper-mache whale installation outside Triennale Milano. The work, part of the series "The Fragility of the Future," was created for the 24th International Exhibition of Triennale Milano, titled "Inequalities," highlighting endangered species. The arsonist was arrested at the scene but provided no motive. Triennale president Stefano Boeri condemned the act as "obtuse and vandalic," noting the irony that the destruction confirms the fragility of living species against human aggression. The installation was scheduled to be moved to Milan's fish market that same day. Boeri announced that Allegrucci's next work, an elephant, will replace the whale. Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli also denounced the attack. The incident echoes a similar 2023 arson in Naples, where Michelangelo Pistoletto's "Venus of the Rags" was burned. Allegrucci, a Tuscan paper-mache master known for his Carnival of Viareggio creations, expressed shock, stating he had anticipated minor vandalism but not fire.