German Tourists in Italy Topple 150-Year-Old Statue for Fun, Causing €200,000 in Damages

A group of German tourists is accused of toppling a 150-year-old statue at a villa in northern Italy. The incident was captured by local surveillance cameras, showing one of the young men pushing the artwork, valued at approximately €200,000, with a stick before it fell to the ground. The villa owner decided to file a complaint.

While recording a video for social media, the German tourists destroyed the sculpture of Enrico Butti, worth €200,000. When it was time to pay for the damages, they defended themselves by claiming the statue was "made of sand" and offered a laughable sum for the repairs, prompting the owner to report the vandalism.

The damage suffered by the art piece will require meticulous restoration work and, in any case, the work of art will never be fully restored. In the complaint filed with the Carabinieri, the villa's management demanded full compensation for the losses and expenses related to the necessary repairs.

"We have never encountered such cases before; we rent to famous showbiz personalities, actors, and singers. But we have never dealt with barbarians. While shooting a video for social media, they grabbed the fountain and knocked over the statue. The Butti statue, an emblem of Villa Alceo for the past 150 years, is a separate piece of stone of great artistic value from our culture in Viggiù, the stonemasons, and we are shocked," stated the villa's manager.

Despite the damages, the small group of tourists left for Germany as if nothing had happened. 

"We need firmness and intolerance towards those idiots who destroy or damage works of art," commented Francesca Caruso, a regional advisor for cultural affairs. "We increasingly witness videos in which our artistic-cultural heritage falls victim to the stupidity and rudeness of people who, without proper culture, arrogate to themselves the right to deface our monumental heritage. I hope that the government's proposed bill, which provides for stricter penalties for those who distort and damage cultural heritage, will be approved as soon as possible," she added.

Earlier, a Swiss tourist was arrested for graffiti on the Colosseum, facing fines of up to €15,000 and up to 5 years in prison.