Tourist causes “significant” damage to Florence’s Neptune fountain after attempted groping challenge goes awry
A pre-wedding stunt in Italy‘s Florence turned into $5,000 worth of damage to the iconic Neptune fountain, sustained while a young tourist attempted to touch the statue’s genital region.
As reported by Artnet, a “young foreigner” aged 28 from an unspecified country intended to “‘touch’ the statue’s private parts as part of a sort of pre-wedding challenge”.
Officers nearby quickly intervened and removed her from the monument while she attempted to scale the towering marble statue located in Piazza della Signoria.
The historic sculpture was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1559 to celebrate the marriage of his son, Francesco I de’ Medici, to Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria. It was created by sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati.
According to a statement from Florence’s City Council, the tourist said that her friends had dared her to touch the penis of the statue.
After experts from the council inspected the monument, they announced that the prank had led to “minor but significant damage to both the legs of the horses she had walked on and to the frieze she held on to in order to avoid slipping”.
After city officials confirmed that the damage totalled around $5,000, the woman was charged with defacing an artistic and architectural asset.
The statue has attracted all sorts of unruly tourists in recent years. CCTV cameras in the area were introduced after a visitor climbed the statue in 2005, which led to the breakage of its hand and the damage of a chariot.
The manager of the city council’s fine arts office has spoken out against the disrespect tourists often show toward important cultural sites around the city.
He shared, as per The Guardian, that, “the physical contact that is sought with the monument is far from the objective, emotional and intellectual [awareness] that we expect and favour towards our monumental heritage. We must not allow ourselves any conscientious concessions to the ignorance and superficiality that characterise such actions.”
