A tourist has been charged after allegedly climbing a colossal marble statue in Florence to touch its genitals for a pre-wedding prank.<\/p>\n
Experts said the woman caused thousands of euros of damage to the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria.<\/p>\n
Created by the sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati, it was commissioned by Cosimo I de\u2019 Medici in 1559 to celebrate the marriage of his son, Francesco I de\u2019 Medicito grand duchess Joanna of Austria. The basin encloses horses that pull a shell-shaped chariot at the base of a statue depicting Neptune, the Roman god of the sea.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old tourist, whose nationality has not been disclosed, was spotted by police and quickly removed from the monument. She told them her friends had dared her to touch Neptune\u2019s genitals, according to a statement from Florence\u2019s city council.<\/a><\/p>\n Experts from the council inspected the monument and found the prank had caused \u201cminor 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\u201d.<\/p>\n City officials put the cost of the damage at \u20ac5,000 (\u00a34,340). Police charged the woman with defacing an artistic and architectural asset.<\/p>\n It is not the first time a tourist has tried to mount Neptune. CCTV cameras were introduced in 2005 after a visitor climbed the statue, breaking one of its hands and damaging the chariot. In 2023, a German tourist caused significant damage trying to climb the monument to take a selfie; that same summer, a young couple tried to scale a copy of Michelangelo\u2019s David in Piazzale Michelangelo.<\/p>\n Despite stricter controls around Florence\u2019s landmarks, rarely a summer goes by without similar incidents. According to Giorgio Caselli, who manages the city council\u2019s fine arts office, it has become increasingly trendy for visitors to climb monuments for a \u201cchallenge\u201d.<\/p>\n