An American tourist smashed two ancient Roman sculptures in the Vatican after being denied a meeting with the Pope.
This is reported by CNN.
The incident took place in the Chiaramonti Museum, which is part of the Vatican Museums. The space contains around a thousand works of ancient sculpture and describes itself as "one of the finest collections of Roman statues" in the world. The tourist demanded a meeting with the Pope. When he was told that this was impossible, he threw one Roman bust on the floor and another as he fled.
Two works of art were sent to an in-house workshop for evaluation. Although they are about 2 thousand years old, they are considered minor works of art, not famous works. According to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, one bust has lost its nose. The tourist was handed over to the Italian police.
In Rome this summer, a Canadian tourist was also caught carving his name into the Colosseum, then there were American tourists scooting up the Spanish Steps, and a visitor from Saudi Arabia driving his “Maserati” through the same architectural icon.