Uffizi director blasts selfie-taking tourists after 17th-century painting damaged
The director of Italy's Uffizi Galleries has sharply criticised social media-obsessed tourists after a visitor posing for a photograph tripped and gashed a 17th-century oil painting.
The young Italian man asked his girlfriend to take a photo of him posing in front of the painting of a prince of the Medici family in the museum in Florence, Tuscany.
He reportedly wanted to create an amusing image by mimicking the posture of Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, the aristocrat in the painting.
But as he stepped towards the artwork, he tripped over a foot-high barrier, put his hand out to steady himself and tore a gash in the canvas of the portrait.
The episode, which happened on Saturday, was caught on a security camera. The man was identified and reported to police. He faces criminal prosecution and may have to pay for the cost of the painting to be repaired.
The director of the Uffizi said it was the latest example of tourists using their visits to gather material for their social media feeds.
'A tourist who wanted to create some sort of meme in front of the painting, striking the same pose as the Medici prince, ripped the canvas of the artwork,' said Simone Verde.
'The problem of visitors coming to museums to create memes or take selfies for social media is now rampant. We put in place very precise rules to try to impede behaviour that is not compatible with respect for our cultural heritage.'
Tourists are routinely caught damaging Italy's cultural heritage, from scratching their initials into the walls of the Colosseum in Rome to posing beside delicate statues and wading into Baroque fountains during the hot summer months.
It is the second time this month that tourists in Italy have damaged a piece of art. A week ago, a middle-aged man was caught on CCTV footage sitting on and inadvertently squashing an ornate chair made out of thousands of Swarovski crystals in a museum in Verona.
The footage showed the man joking around with his wife and sitting on the 'Van Gogh' chair, which promptly buckled. The couple made a hurried exit from the gallery.
Museum curators appealed to visitors to 'respect art' after the incident. 'Sometimes we lose our brains to take a picture, and we don't think about the consequences,' said Vanessa Carlon, the museum director.
'Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us – that isn't an accident. This is a nightmare for any museum. Art must be respected and loved, because it is very fragile.'
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