A young German man jumped over the fence of the Neptune fountain in Piazza della Signoria in Florence to take a selfie, and his act caused more than $5,000 worth of damage to the monument.
A tourist visiting the beautiful streets of Florence decided he wanted to take a selfie next to the Neptune monument, however, his daring act left a damage to the monument for about 5,300 dollars.
According to the mayor of the city, Dario Nardella, he mentioned that “This tourist had the good sense to climb Neptune to take a selfie” and after a subsequent and more careful evaluation, the horse’s leg of the monument was damaged and thousands of dollars will be needed to restore it.
The mayor added: “Thanks to the municipal cameras he has been identified and will pay a heavy fine. There is no justification against vandalism against cultural heritage.”
The episode takes place after the debate between the mayor and the director of the Uffizi Museum, Eike Schimdt, after some graffiti on the outer wall of the Vasari Corridor and the request to the municipality for armed vigilance, while the alderman explained that the reinforcement of measures such as cameras and alarms that allowed to surprise the tourist who climbed the statue were sufficient.
The tourist is a 22 year old German, resident in Berlin, and was reported by the municipal police who identified him.
According to official information, the tourist was in Piazza della Signoria with two other friends and jumped the fence of the fountain of Neptune and climbed on the edge and then on the leg of the horse, so that the friends could take some pictures, on the descent he put his foot back on the leg, damaging it.
The alarm was triggered when the young man left the fountain area, which allowed him and his friends to lose track of him, but from the images of the video surveillance cameras of the city hall the agents of the central area managed to identify the vandal, detailed the newspaper “La Repubblica”.
The Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, also intervened on the matter: “The umpteenth damage to the national cultural heritage, although they seem contained, is a sign of a total lack, on the part of the perpetrator of the gesture, of respect for civilization and beauty, a feeling that should distinguish those who choose to visit Italy”.
Last August 23, two German tourists were also arrested in Florence, accused of being the authors of some graffiti on the walls of the Vasari Corridor, which crosses the Ponte Vecchio, in an act of vandalism that once again outraged the country.