Art as a victim: the Isis’s attacks

Abstract

This contribution proposes a criminological perspective on the phenomenon of art destruction carried out by Isis: a “scorched
earth” operation which has interested many areas of Syria, Iran and Libya with the purpose of annihilating the local feeling
of belonging and the collective memory. In particular the article considers the damage inflicted by this kind of behavior
which destroys unique and inimitable masterpieces and also damages the whole community, just as it happens in
environmental crimes. Finally, starting from the assumption that, in spite of their seriousness, this kind of crimes causes a
limited social reaction, attention is focused on the extent of the damages considered; their irreparability means that we are
all deprived of the possibility of experiencing that which represents our history and our past.