Tourists’ lack of respect for monuments and memorials continues to cause a stir in Italy. A 22-year-old German tourist has climbed the Fountain of Neptune in Piazza della Signoria in central Florence to take a selfie. The municipality of Florence said in a statement on Monday that the right front leg of the horse, a figure in the fountain, was damaged.
Checks also revealed that a triangular piece had detached from the top of a red marble car. The damage is estimated by community experts at about 5,000 euros.
Climbed on a horse leg
The tourist jumped over the fence of the Neptune fountain on Monday evening. He then climbed onto the horse’s leg, reached the base of the chariot, and returned after his friends took a picture of him. On his way down he again put his foot on the horse’s leg, damaging it. The 22-year-old was found and reported thanks to video surveillance recordings.
Ten days ago, two teenagers climbed the copy of the statue of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David in Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence. A boy and a young woman were filmed climbing onto the base of the statue and then clinging to David’s legs. The video was published on social networks and caused outrage. The statue stands on Piazzale Michelangelo, which offers a breathtaking view of the city of Florence. The original of the David statue that Michelangelo made from a single block of marble has been kept in the Galleria dell’Accademia since 1873. It depicts the biblical David as he is about to engage in catapult battle against the giant Goliath.
More and more incidents at monuments
Recently, there have been repeated debates about incidents involving tourists at monuments. Two German vacationers were reported on Wednesday after they defaced the pillars of Florence’s famous Vasari Corridor, which connects the Uffizi Gallery to the Pitti Palace. The young men are said to have painted the letters and numbers “DKS 1860” in black on a total of seven pillars of the historic corridor and also smeared the inside. They were identified based on video footage from surveillance cameras in the area.
Also, travelers to Italy were recently caught carving the initials of their names into a wall in Rome’s Colosseum. The incidents had sparked the outrage of Culture Minister Gennaro Sangennaro.
Source: Krone
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