Italian authorities are working to identify a young woman who was captured on video engaging inappropriately with a statue of Bacchus, the god of wine and sensuality, in Florence over the weekend.
The country’s culture ministry and Florence officials have expressed outrage after images of the incident spread widely on social media, with the Florence mayor’s office describing it as an act that “mimicked sex.”
Officials from Florence City Hall reported that the tourist has yet to be identified and noted that she was “presumably in a state of inebriation.”
They stated that if she is identified, she could face a fine and potentially be banned from the city for life, according to an ordinance that forbids any abuse of cultural heritage.
The statue involved is a replica of the original 16th-century work by sculptor Giambologna, known for his influence by Hellenistic sculpture and the works of Michelangelo, and who made Florence his home in 1552.
The original Bacchus statue is housed in the Bargello Museum in central Florence, while the replica is located near the Ponte Vecchio bridge.
The incident has elicited a broad spectrum of responses on the social media platform X, ranging from outrage to ironic amusement.
Challenges with unruly tourists have been a longstanding issue for Italian authorities.
In 2022, a man faced charges for driving a Maserati down Rome’s famous Spanish Steps, and other tourists were fined that year for attempting to surf up Venice’s Grand Canal.
In 2023, a group of young tourists were accused of toppling a valuable statue while taking photos for social media at a villa in northern Italy. Also in Florence that year, a tourist was detained for allegedly damaging a statue in the 16th-century Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria.
