Tourist’s ‘pre-wedding challenge’ damages historic Florence statue

The Fountain of Neptune (Fontana del Nettuno) is pictured in Florence, Italy. (Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

A tourist has caused thousands of dollars in damage to a 16th-century monument in Florence, Italy, after climbing on it during a bachelorette party, according to authorities.

The 28-year-old woman, whose name and nationality have not been publicly disclosed, climbed the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria on Saturday, the city of Florence said in a statement this week.

The Fountain of Neptune was commissioned in 1559 by Cosimo I de Medici, Duke of Florence, to mark the marriage of his son Francesco and the Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria.

The fountain features a statue of the Roman sea god Neptune atop a shell-shaped carriage pulled by horses.

The woman was immediately spotted by police, who told her to get out of the fountain, officials said in the statement Tuesday.

The woman allegedly told officers that she had entered the fountain by climbing over a railing and the edge of the basin, then onto the legs of the figure of a horse to avoid stepping into the water.

“Her intention was to ‘touch’ the private parts of the statue for a sort of pre-wedding challenge,” reads the statement.

Investigators later found that the woman had “caused small but significant damage” to the legs of the horses she’d walked on, as well as “to a frieze she had grabbed onto to avoid slipping,” which will cost 5,000 euros (US$5,845) to repair, according to the statement.

“The young woman was reported to the Judicial Authority for defacing an artistic and architectural asset,” it adds.

Officials added that the woman is “to be presumed innocent until a final judgment by the Judicial Authority.”

This is not the first time that badly behaved tourists have been linked to damaged to the fountain.

In 2023, a 22-year-old German man was accused of damaging the statue after climbing on it as two friends took photos of him.

The statue was previously damaged in 2005, when someone climbed on it and broke Neptune’s hand. This prompted the authorities to install security cameras.

By Jack Guy, CNN