25 Aprile

Can you put a price on Freedom of Speech?
Last year, the Meloni government did, by censoring a talk by anti-fascist writer Antonio Scurati on public broadcast, settle at 1800 euros. We took that 1800 euros and, as an act of awareness, wrote quotes and messages about freedom of speech from Italian intellectuals on each banknote. Now, these banknotes are up for sale, allowing the spirit of protest and freedom to reach even more people.
From April 24 to April 26, you can purchase a banknote for its original value or choose to pay any multiple of its value, based on what you believe freedom of speech is worth. For example, you can purchase a 10-euro banknote and pay 10, 20, 30, 40 euros, or more. Framing and shipping costs are additional.
Like a bottle with a message, any unsold banknotes will be put back into circulation, and we cannot predict who will receive the message of freedom.
For the purchase, please send us a message with the value of the banknote you’d like to buy and the amount you want to offer. We’ll take care of the rest.
Join our art project and take a stand for freedom of speech.
Happy Italian Liberation Day!

On April 25, 2024, a controversy erupted involving Antonio Scurati, an antifascist writer. Scurati was scheduled to read his antifascist monologue on Rai 3 (Italian public TV) for the Liberation Day broadcast, but at the last minute, his segment was canceled. The monologue addressed the dangers of historical revisionism and criticized certain Italian politicians' ambiguous stance on fascism. The decision sparked outrage, with many seeing it as censorship and a sign of political pressure within the publicly funded broadcaster under Meloni’s government.
Rai's director, Paolo Corsini, denied censorship, claiming the cancellation was due to "economic and contractual" issues, suggesting the high fee Scurati demanded, which was 1,800 euros. Scurati denied this, sharing documents that showed the fee had already been agreed upon by Rai and was in line with previous payments.
Since Meloni took power, her government has been accused of exerting increasing influence over Rai, removing left-wing figures and silencing opposition voices. So as to earn the nickname 'Rai's megaphone for the government.'. The European Commission has also been urged to investigate these actions.

"The government attacks you personally for speaking out, in my case over the fee I requested," said Scurati.