Italian Artist Files Lawsuit Worth Over 100 Million Won Against the Vatican... "My Painting Was Plagiarized"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Local media reported on the 28th (local time) that an Italian street artist has filed a lawsuit against the Vatican for damages worth around 100 million won, claiming that his painting was plagiarized.

According to reports, Alessia Babro, a street artist active in Rome, filed a damage compensation lawsuit against the Vatican last month. The amount claimed in the lawsuit reaches 130,000 euros (approximately 176 million won).

He claimed that the Vatican took the image of Jesus he painted in early 2019 on the Vittorio Emanuele II Bridge near the Vatican without permission and used it to issue and sell Easter stamps in 2020. The Vatican reportedly produced 80,000 stamps featuring the image and sold them for 1.15 euros (about 1,561 won) each.

In an interview with the media, Babro explained the background of the lawsuit, saying he sent three letters to the Vatican requesting recognition of his copyright but received no response. He emphasized that he is not trying to attack the Catholic Church but is seeking to protect his rightful rights to his artwork, and he never imagined that an institution like the Vatican would plagiarize an artwork.

The Vatican has not made any official statement regarding this lawsuit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.