A 28-year-old woman faces arrest after climbing a historic Neptune statue in Florence and touching its genitals during a hen party prank. Authorities accuse her of inflicting €5,000 (£4,000) in damage to the Biancone fountain in Piazza della Signoria.
Details of the Incident
The event unfolded on a Saturday afternoon when police spotted the tourist scaling the 16th-century monument. Officers promptly removed her from the site. She explained that her friends dared her to touch the Roman god’s genitals as part of a pre-wedding challenge.
Damage and Charges
Created by sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1559, the statue features Neptune atop a shell-shaped chariot pulled by horses. Officials report small but significant damage to the horses’ hooves, which she rode, and a frieze she gripped to avoid slipping. She faces charges for defacing an artistic and architectural monument.
Past Incidents at the Fountain
This marks another act of vandalism at the iconic fountain. In 2005, a tourist climbed Neptune, breaking one of its hands and damaging the chariot, prompting the installation of CCTV cameras. A German visitor caused substantial harm in 2023 while attempting a selfie from the fountain.
Broader Vandalism Trends in Italy
Monuments nationwide suffer from tourist misconduct and activism. In 2023, a video surfaced showing a tourist carving initials into Rome’s Colosseum, sparking public outrage. Dutch football fans trashed a Bernini fountain in Rome in 2015, leaving beer bottles in the water. Environmental activists glued their hands to the glass over Sandro Botticelli’s ‘Spring’ at Florence’s Uffizi Galleries in July 2022; protective glass prevented harm to the painting.
New Legislation to Combat Vandalism
Italy enacted a 2024 law imposing five-figure fines on those damaging cultural sites to cover repairs and cleanup. Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano stated: ‘The attacks on monuments and artistic sites produce economic damage to all. To clean it up, the intervention of highly specialised personnel and the use of very costly machines are needed.’ He added: ‘Whoever carries out these acts must also assume the financial responsibility.’
