In Florence (Italy), a 28-year-old tourist is being prosecuted after damaging the Neptune Fountain during a bachelorette party on the night of April 18 to 19. According to the authorities, she climbed the monument located in Piazza della Signoria following a challenge launched by her friends, which consisted of touching the private parts of the statue of Neptune.
The tourist apparently went through the protective devices to climb onto the fountain, before being intercepted by the municipal police. She is now the subject of prosecution for damage to artistic and architectural property. Municipal experts estimated the damage at around 5,000 euros. The damage concerns in particular the legs of the horses in the sculpture and the frieze to which the tourist clung to avoid slipping.
This new incident is added to a similar previous one, on the same monument. In September 2023, a 22-year-old German tourist climbed the fountain to have his photo taken by friends, also causing around 5,000 euros in damage. The authorities then noted the breakage of a fragment of marble from the chariot and the damage to a horse’s hoof. The man was identified using surveillance cameras and prosecuted for damage to cultural heritage.
The Fountain of Neptune, also called the Biancone, was designed in the 16th century by Bartolomeo Ammannati, on the commission of Cosimo I de’ Medici, to celebrate the marriage of his son Francis I de’ Medici to Joan of Austria. The monument was restored between 2016 and 2019 at a cost of 1.5 million euros, with funding from Salvatore Ferragamo via the Italian Art Bonus scheme.
In 2024, another episode had already illustrated this type of behavior in Florence. A teenager hid in the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral before climbing to the dome to take a selfie, then published on Instagram. The affair led the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore to step up surveillance of the site. The country then toughened its repressive arsenal against attacks on heritage, with fines of up to 60,000 euros for the damage to monuments.
