An American tourist has caused furor in Florence, Italy after he reportedly broke a finger of the statue of Virgin Mary that was 600 year old and kept in a museum. Museums in Europe are known to maintain a high security and such incidents are rarely heard. The mishap occurred when this tourist, a 55 year old man, who was along with other tourists in a group, was trying to compare his own finger with the finger of the statue in a Florence museum.
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In museums, there is no security guard to watch every activity of the tourists as it is understood that educated visitors would follow the instructions written on placards around the exhibits. ‘Please do not touch the statue’ is what is normally written on a placard near the section that contains old and valuable statues. But this tourist, who was visiting the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy was perhaps unaware of any such warning as he went right next to the statue of the Virgin Mary and started examining it closely. He took the finger of the Virgin Mary in his hand and was comparing the size of his own finger with that of the Statue when the finger of the statue came off. Reports say that there was a security guard who spotted the tourist moving away in a hurry and realized that something wrong has happened. He went after the tourist but he was gone in a flash.
The sculpture in question was a work of the great artist Florentine Giovanni d’Ambrogio. It was made in the 15ht century and is at least 600 years old. The officials of the museum have said that the finger was not a part of the original statue and it was cast in a later period. However, there has been no statement saying how much the repair of the statue would cost or if it can be even repaired or not.
The tourist later issued an apology but it seems that merely saying sorry may not be enough in this case. Though the
statue was priceless and the loss is difficult to surmise, there could be a heavy fine that he may be required to pay to the museum authorities. A statement has come from the head of the Diocesan Office of Sacred Art and Church Cultural Heritage and the Cathedral Foundation Museum in Florence. The head is, Timothy Verdon, an American, who is obviously embarrassed by this act of a fellow American. He said that in a globalized world like ours, people visiting museums forget to follow the fundamental rule which is do not touch the works. Sources say that the unnamed American tourist was from New Fairfield Connecticut. He was on a vacation along with his wife and friends.
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Incidents like these prove the need for the security to be beefed up in museums around the world, at least in sections where old statues and other artifacts are housed.
