Scaffolding Goes up in Venice to Save Banksy’s Migrant Mural

People work at the beginning of the restoration process of Banksy's 'Migrant Child', the mural depicting a migrant child wearing a lifejacket and holding a pink flare in Venice, Italy, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
People work at the beginning of the restoration process of Banksy's 'Migrant Child', the mural depicting a migrant child wearing a lifejacket and holding a pink flare in Venice, Italy, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
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Scaffolding Goes up in Venice to Save Banksy’s Migrant Mural

People work at the beginning of the restoration process of Banksy's 'Migrant Child', the mural depicting a migrant child wearing a lifejacket and holding a pink flare in Venice, Italy, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)
People work at the beginning of the restoration process of Banksy's 'Migrant Child', the mural depicting a migrant child wearing a lifejacket and holding a pink flare in Venice, Italy, June 17, 2025. (Reuters)

Scaffolding went up in Venice on Tuesday to restore a mural by the elusive street artist Banksy that had appeared on the side of a 17th century building in the lagoon city six years ago.

"Migrant Child" shows a boy wearing a lifejacket and holding a pink flare, representing the artist's support for migrant sea rescue charities.

But being exposed to Venice's notorious humidity and painted on the canal-facing side of a crumbling palazzo, it was in danger of fading into oblivion.

The building, unoccupied when Banksy worked on it, was bought last year by an Italian bank that is now funding its entire restoration, mural included.

Banca Ifis is planning to turn the Palazzo San Pantalon into an exhibition space linked to the Venice Biennale art fair, it said in a statement.

The three-story building is in the Dorsoduro neighborhood, near Venice's main university. The well-known Zaha Hadid Architects studio is working on the renovation project.



Acropolis Trims Hours Again Amid Greek Heatwave

A drone view of the empty Acropolis, after the authorities closed the site for the hottest part of the day, as a heatwave grips Athens, Greece, July 8,  2025. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas
A drone view of the empty Acropolis, after the authorities closed the site for the hottest part of the day, as a heatwave grips Athens, Greece, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas
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Acropolis Trims Hours Again Amid Greek Heatwave

A drone view of the empty Acropolis, after the authorities closed the site for the hottest part of the day, as a heatwave grips Athens, Greece, July 8,  2025. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas
A drone view of the empty Acropolis, after the authorities closed the site for the hottest part of the day, as a heatwave grips Athens, Greece, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas

The Acropolis in Athens will limit its operating hours for a second straight day because of heatwave conditions, the Greek culture ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry in a statement said the world-renowned site would be shut till 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) "for the safety of workers and visitors, owing to high temperatures."

The four-day heatwave confirmed by meteorologists began Sunday and is the second to grip Greece since late June.

Temperatures are expected to reach 41 Celsius (105.8 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, with a maximum of 37 Celsius in Athens, according to national weather service EMY.

The Greek civil protection authority has warned of high fire risk in the greater Athens area, in central Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula on Wednesday.

The heatwave will abate on Thursday.