If you've ever visited the city of Venice, Italy, you've likely visited St. Mark's Square, the historic plaza that has the Basilica San Marco -- St. Mark's Basilica -- on it. 

The church is dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist and holds his relics, in addition to beautiful gold mosaics. It's one of the iconic symbols of the city, the heart of the city. 

But climate activists ramping up their actions decided to target the Basilica. As if they hadn't been annoying and destructive enough by blocking traffic and going after famous pieces of art, now they've taken it to a whole new level: Even churches are not off their target lists to vandalize and deface. 

Ecoterrorists deface Basilica of San Marco. Made in year 1063 is currently and has always been the center of public and religious life in Venice. pic.twitter.com/acLxnYtEI3

— RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) December 7, 2023

They sprayed mud and Nesquik over the building. It's not clear how much damage they may have done to the historic structure. 

The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, let them have it. 

Un gesto gravissimo e vergognoso che condanniamo fermamente!
Gli attivisti per il clima hanno imbrattato poco fa l'esterno della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia, sembra con del liquido misto a fango. Al momento speriamo senza danni permanenti.

Ora basta, è legittimo esprimere… pic.twitter.com/y51L8ZBv4W

— Luigi Brugnaro (@LuigiBrugnaro) December 7, 2023

The Mayor called it a "serious and shameful act that we firmly condemn." He said he hoped there was no "permanent damage." He said, "Enough is enough," and that while it was legitimate to protest, you had to do so  "respecting the law and our cultural and religious heritage." "Vandalism is certainly not the correct method to find solutions," he declared. 

The activists gave justifications for their vandalism.

The activists from the Last Generation movement are demanding a 20 billion euro “reparation fund” to compensate Italians for climate-related damage. They cited the threat of rising sea levels on Venice as well as mudslides that have wreaked havoc recently on some Italian communities. [....]

The activists cited Pope Francis’ call to protect the environment. The Vatican tribunal recently convicted two Last Generation activists and ordered them to pay more than 28,000 euros in restitution after they glued their hands to the base of an ancient statue in the Vatican Museums to draw attention to their cause.

Police detained six of the activists. Let's hope that they get some consequences for their actions. But I wouldn't bet on it. They had no real consequences for blocking roads and gluing themselves to famous artwork, as we've seen — although they have gotten angry drivers to pull them out of the way. 

So they're ramping up their actions, they have no fear in even attacking a church now. After all, their climate beliefs are their new religion. They don't care about history (or that there's always been flooding in Venice). All they care about is using whatever they can to serve their cause, even if it involves defacing such a religious and national symbol. I'm guessing that isn't going to help their cause.