American Tourist Breaks Finger Off 600-Year-Old Italian Statue

[onehandle]

There are a few basic rules in museums. The first, and most important, is: don't touch the art. Unfortunately, that's just what one 55-year-old American tourist from Missouri did during a recent a recent visit to Florence's Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The result? A 600-year-old statue lost a finger.

The man, whose name had not been released, was reportedly measuring his hand next to the late 14th century piece of art when he touched the statue's finger, causing it to break off.

"We are sure that the damage was caused by the American tourist because the work has recently returned from the exhibition at the Uffizi Golden Flashes, where it was exposed, and then on its return was carefully controlled,” the museum's head Timothy Verdon told the New York Daily News. “In a globalized world like ours, the fundamental rules for visiting a museum have been forgotten – that is, 'Do no touch the works.' "

The tourist apologized and was said to be “very disappointed," and for good reason; in addition to dealing with the embarrassment of breaking a piece of valuable art, the man also has to deal with Florence's police department, who were notified of the incident by the museum.

http://gawker.com/american-tourist-breaks-finger-off-600-year-old-italian-1046571818

[dipsydoodle]

1. A true wtf moment.

I'm reminded of the Japanese tourists scurrying around the Venus de Milo in the Louvre under the "no photographs" sign. Half of them keeping security occupied while the other half snap away. Then they swop over.

[yellowcanine]

2. Dupe.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3420522

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. You know, Missouri is the show me state.

He was probably just touching it to make sure it was real.

Missourians are weird that way. It's a cultural thing here.

[liberal N proud]

4. The man is a surgeon from Connecticut, not Missouri

The article update states the above

[leftyladyfrommo]

6. Oh, whew.

I thought for sure it was going to be one of us.

At least he should be able to afford the cost of fixing it.

I didn't know they put metal or wood supports inside fingers 600 years ago.

[hunter]

7. Possibly a previous repair. Maybe by the artist.

I know an amateur artist who was carving a statue and the head broke off. Oops. Just like movie and cartoon comedies.

Fortunately modern epoxy resins are amazing and available in many colors.

[zipplewrath]

8. Thinking the same thing

Still no excuse for touching, but it very easily could have been an existing flaw/damage or it could have been a repair from long ago.

Still no excuse though.

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. Memo to Italy: Hide Michelangelo's "David" ASAP! nt

[CTyankee]

10. The Italians entombed the David during WW2 in the Accademia.

They put scaffolding around it and padding in the scaffolding then bricked it up in a silo, hoping to protect it from Allied bomb damage. A review of the book Saving Italy tells us the story: http://www.metro.us/newyork/entertainment/2013/05/06/edsels-saving-italy-recounts-the-efforts-to-preserve-and-protect-artwork-during-wwii/

[cthulu2016]

9. Looking at the picture, probably not the first time it was broken off

The metal peg suggests that it has been put back on before, or that the thing was made with datatchable fingers in the first place

[FSogol]

11. Has no one watched the National Treasure movies or read Dan Brown? Obviously the finger held

a scroll of Masonic Symbols on ancient parchment leading our "tourist" on to another clue located in Milan. What the "tourist" doesn't realize is that the parchment was marked with violet-colored ink which was only manufactured in Genoa during that time period.

[frazzled]

12. Back in the mid-1990s ...

We were with our children (then 12 and 9) in Paris, and we took them to the Rodin museum. Walking around the gardens outside, my kids were hysterical. People had their hands all over the statues. They shouldn't be touching! my kids protested. (Their dad worked for an art museum at the time, so they were well aware of rules for such things in American museums.)

European museums are notoriously lax about people touching or sometimes even photographing the works (a big problem as well). Hopefully a lot has changed since our incident, but as this example shows, maybe not.