A tourist from Germany has reportedly damaged the Fountain of Neptune in the city of Florence, Italy.
The problem arose when the tourist took to climbing the well-known landmark, which was built in the 16th century.
Consequently, a marble segment of the fountain broke off, which led to estimated damages of around €5,000.
Vandalism
Shortly after the incident, the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, posted a video on the social media website X.
In the video, the tourist can be seen climbing the iconic Fountain of Neptune simply to take a picture.
According to the Mayor, the tourist thought it was appropriate to climb the landmark for a selfie.
He reported that there had been no significant damage, as the alarm system alerted the relevant authorities.
The mayor appreciated the work of those who helped identify the culprit, as they will now be liable to pay a substantial fine.
He stressed how there is no justification for the vandalism of cultural heritage, and people should be punished for violating the rules set in place.
The incident
The 22-year-old tourist caused damage to the landmark when he climbed onto the chariot of the statue and broke a piece of marble.
In addition, he damaged the hooves of the horses as he was climbing back down.
The authorities responsible requested the Municipality to provide access to their camera to identify the person responsible.
In a matter of a couple of hours, the police were able to identify who the tourist had been and tracked his movements to find him.
The Fountain of Neptune had undergone comprehensive restoration back in 2018 and is a historical landmark cherished by the people of the country.
It was initially constructed in the 16th century to celebrate the marriage between the Archduchess of Austria at the time and a member of the House of Medici.
Other incidents
This recent incident is not the first among the various cases of vandalism that have occurred at different historic sites in Italy in this summer season alone.
Another incident took place last month, which included a group of young tourists from Germany.
They were accused of causing damage to the Italian fountain statue, which was built back in the 19th century.
Surveillance footage of the incident was extracted at the time, which showed them toppling the figure as they tried to pose for pictures with the statue in the background.
In the same month, a video of a tourist in Florence went viral on the internet. It showed a tourist climbing atop the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome to fill up her water bottle.
Consequently, the people of Italy were outraged by this behavior and called for increased restrictions at historic landmarks across the city.
Meanwhile, Ivan Dimitrov, a tourist traveling from Britain, issued an apology for the role that he played in the demolishing of the ancient Roman Colosseum.
At the time, the 27-year-old had been on a trip to Italy from Bulgaria alongside Hayley Bracey, his girlfriend.
Video footage of the incident involving the British traveler showed him carving his and his girlfriend’s name into the monument, which is 2,000 years old.
As a result, people were outraged by the open act of vandalism and condemned the act.
