A fading Banksy mural, *Migrant Child* (2019), depicting a child holding a flare and wearing a life vest, was removed from the façade of the 17th-century Palazzo San Pantalon in Venice on Wednesday night. Restorers cut out the wall section using angle grinders and hand tools from a barge, in an operation funded by the banking group Banca Ifis, the building's owner. The work—one of only two Banksy pieces officially attributed in Italy—had deteriorated significantly due to six years of exposure to the elements, with about a third of the image lost. It will undergo analysis and restoration under Federico Borgogni, who previously oversaw the removal of Banksy's *Aachoo!* in Bristol.
The removal and planned restoration of *Migrant Child* matter because they raise ongoing debates about the preservation of street art versus allowing it to decay naturally in its original context. The mural, widely seen as a commentary on the global refugee crisis, had become a popular tourist attraction. Banca Ifis intends to display the restored work as part of free cultural events organized by its art arm, Ifis Art, and has commissioned Zaha Hadid Architects to transform the palazzo into a contemporary art exhibition space “in synergy with the Venice Biennale.” The project is described as an “innovative” rescue operation, marking the first time this removal technique has been used in Italy.