Florence, 21 April (LaPresse) – She climbed onto the ‘Biancone’ as part of a pre-wedding challenge, but was immediately spotted by the municipal police, who made her climb down from the fountain. A stunt that cost a young foreign tourist a police report, as her behaviour caused minor but significant damage to the Fountain of Neptune in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The incident took place on the afternoon of Saturday 18 April. The 28-year-old told the officers who attended the scene that she had entered the fountain – known to Florentines as the ‘Biancone’ – by climbing over both the railings and the edge of the basin, and had climbed directly onto the legs of the horse carrying the shell to avoid getting into the water. Her intention, she explained, was to “touch” the statue’s private parts as part of a sort of pre-wedding challenge. The officers, who were nearby, immediately intervened, pulling her out of the fountain and then proceeding to identify her. Yesterday, Monday 20 April, specialists from the Palazzo Vecchio Workshop carried out an inspection to check whether the stunt had caused any damage. The inspection revealed minor but significant damage, both to the horses’ legs on which she had walked and to a frieze to which she had clung to prevent herself from slipping. The young woman has been reported to the judicial authorities for defacing an artistic and architectural heritage site.
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