Police have detained several activists who poured red paint down Rome’s famed Spanish Steps to raise awareness about femicide in Italy.

The protesters, from an organisation called Bruciamo Tutto, or Let’s Burn Everything, spilled paint down the 135-step monument, then dipped their hands in the paint, meant to represent blood, to leave hand prints on the monument as tourists looked on.

Police carried protesters, who went limp, away from the scene.

One activist shouted that 40 women had been killed in Italy since the November 11, 2023 killing of 23-year-old Giulia Cecchettin that galvanised outrage against violence targeting women.

Venice prosecutors recently closed their investigation of her ex-boyfriend for the slaying. Charges are pending.

The activists left leaflets with the names of women killed this year, mostly by their partners.

Sanitation workers hosed down the steps, immediately washing away the paint. There appeared to be no permanent damage.

A top tourist draw, the Spanish Steps have appeared as the backdrop in movies including the classic Roman Holiday as well as the more recent Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning, featuring Tom Cruise bumping down the steps in a Fiat 500.