Vandalism of Rome mural sparks wave of cross-party support for Egonu.

Politicians in Italy across the spectrum united in solidarity with Paola Egonu on Tuesday after a mural of the Italian volleyball star was defaced on a street in Rome.

The street art by Laika depicts Egonu, who was born in Italy to Nigerian parents, jumping to hit a ball with the words "stop racism, hate, xenophobia, ignorance".

On Monday night, just 24 hours after the mural appeared near the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters, vandals erased the message on the ball and sprayed the colour of Egonu's skin from black to pink.

Sports minister Andrea Abodi shared a picture on X of himself with Egonu, taken after the Italian women's volleyball team won Olympic gold in Paris on Sunday, with a message calling for respect and education "to defeat ignorance, incivility and insensitivity."

Antonio Tajani, Italy's deputy premier and leader of the centre-right Forza Italia, expressed his solidarity with Egonu and "the most total disdain for this grave act of vulgar racism."

Cara Paola, il mio abbraccio va ben oltre quel giorno speciale e vale ancor di più oggi. Il rispetto e l’educazione si coltivano quotidianamente, per sconfiggere ignoranza, inciviltà e lnsensibilità. Insieme ! pic.twitter.com/YSCalGiO0V

— Andrea Abodi (@andreaabodi) August 13, 2024

Ignazio La Russa, the president of Italy's senate and co-founder of the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party of premier Giorgia Meloni, told Rome newspaper Il Messaggero that the vandalism was as "an episode of sinister, stupid racism".

Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD), slammed the racist vandalism and raised the topic of Italy's contentious citizenship rules for children of migrants, saying: "For us, anyone born or raised in Italy is Italian and we will continue to fight to change the law on citizenship."

Egonu, who has sparked racism debates in Italy in the past, grew up in the northern Veneto region and has been an Italian citizen since she was 14 after her father obtained an Italian passport.

Luca Zaia, the governor of Veneto and a senior figure in the right-wing Lega party, condemned the incident and hailed Egonu as "an icon of national sport and a source of great pride for the whole of Veneto."

L’atto di vandalismo sull’opera che ritrae Paola Egonu è semplicemente intollerabile. Si tratta di un insulto ad una grande italiana che ha portato in cima al mondo i colori del nostro Paese e ad un’artista impegnata. E' triste constatare come nel 2024 ci siano ancora razzisti… pic.twitter.com/NVaaZmFpem

— Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) August 13, 2024

Rome mayor Roberto Gualteri (PD) said the vandalism was "simply a disgrace" and "a vile insult to a great Italian", while the right-wing Lazio governor Francesco Rocca slammed it as intolerable, shameful and cowardly.

Amid a public outcry in Rome on Tuesday, a passerby was praised for her efforts to undo the vandalism and restore the mural to its original state.

Photo credit: EvrenKalinbacak / Shutterstock.com.