Venetian city councilor Renato Borsaso attracted attention by wanting to sell Klimt’s 1909 painting “Judith II (Salmone)”. This is to finance the construction of a football stadium. However, he later countered that it was a “late April Fool’s joke”.
“Klimt’s painting will remain in Venice,” Borsaso assured. He had previously claimed that the municipality wanted to sell the painting in the Municipal Museum of Ca Pesaro. This is to finance the construction of a stadium on the Venetian mainland. The EU had stopped disbursing money from the reconstruction fund earmarked for the project. 93 of the EUR 303 million should come from the EU.
“Extreme Way”
“If no solution is found, there is an extreme way to get the money for the stadium: we can sell Klimt’s Judith,” Borsaso said at the time. The stadium project is important for the future of Venice. Borsaso’s proposal provoked heated reactions from the opposition. “It is unacceptable to trade and sell works of art such as the Judith, a legacy of the Venetians, to raise money for a project that has already been rejected by Europe. We are ready to fight with common sense together with the citizens,” said Social Democratic MEP Rachele Scarpa.
The city politician explained after the protests that it was a “belated April Fool’s joke”. The stadium is facing resistance from environmental groups and the left-wing opposition in the city council, among others. The European Commission has also expressed its concerns. To clarify various aspects, she postponed the payment of 19 billion euros for four weeks.
Source: Krone
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