A 50-year-old American tourist lost his marbles and hurled two ancient statues to the ground, all because they denied him an audience with the Pope. The episode happened around lunchtime in the Museo Chiaramonti, part of the Vatican Museums. That museum holds about 1,000 works of ancient statuary and describes itself as “one of the finest collections of Roman portraits” in the world.
“The 2 busts have been damaged but not particularly badly. One lost part of a nose and an ear, the head of the other came off the pedestal,” Vatican officials reported.
Officials say that restoration work has already begun and that “they will soon be restored and back at the Museum.”
Religious News reported:
An American tourist hurled two ancient Roman busts to the floor in the Vatican Museums on Wednesday (Oct. 5) after being refused an audience with Pope Francis.
“The person who pulled down the statues has been arrested by the gendarmes and handed over to Italian authorities,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters afterward.
According to local reports, the unidentified tourist was visiting the Chiaramonti Gallery at the Vatican Museums, which holds one of the world’s largest collections of Roman marble portraits, when he asked to meet the pope.
After being denied, the visitor threw two marble busts to the ground before being stopped by a tour guide and then by the security personnel. A tour guide posted a picture of the event on Facebook.
Leave a Comment