Woman damages Fountain of Neptune on a pre-wedding dare to grope nude statue

A foreign woman visiting Florence allegedly damaged the famed Fountain of Neptune earlier this month while trying to grope the nude statue’s genitals on a pre-wedding dare, officials said.

The 28-year-old woman allegedly scaled a protective railing and climbed over the edge of the fountain’s basin onto the legs of the statue’s horse on April 18 but was stopped and removed from the fountain by local police, Florence officials said in a statement.

The woman was not identified by name, and her nationality was not provided.

“Her intention was to ‘touch’ the statue’s private parts as part of a sort of pre-wedding challenge,” officials said.

The fountain is located in Piazza della Signoria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in front of Palazzo Vecchio. It was commissioned in 1559 by the Florentine Duke Cosimo I.

Florence officials said specialists from the Palazzo Vecchio Restoration Office inspected the fountain after the incident and determined there was “minor but significant” damage to hooves of the horses she had walked on and to a frieze she had clung to so she wouldn’t slip into the water.

Details of the damage caused were not provided, but it was estimated to cost €5,000 to repair.

Follow along with other art crime stories at Urgent Matter’s art crime tracker.