As European leaders prepare to celebrate the foundation of the European Union in Rome 60 years ago, Greenpeace activists kicked off three days of public demonstrations and events by displaying a giant 100m2 banner from a piazza overlooking the centre of the ancient city.

The banner was placed on the Pincio terrace, close to where European leaders signed the Treaty of Rome on 25 March 1957. It depicts a fluttering EU flag revealing a solar panel, and reads: “After 60 years: a better Europe to save the climate.”