A Baroque elephant statue in Rome has been vandalised, with its left tusk snapped off, prompting an investigation and condemnation from Italy’s culture minister.
ROME: A famed marble elephant statue designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been damaged in Rome. Authorities discovered the sculpture’s left tusk snapped off and lying at the base of the monument on Monday night.
Police will review video footage from Piazza della Minerva to determine if the damage was an act of vandalism. They are also considering whether weeks of unusually heavy rain could have caused the tusk to fall.
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Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli condemned what he called an “absurd act of barbarity”. He stated the 17th-century statue, which supports an ancient Egyptian obelisk, was a victim of deliberate damage.
“It is unacceptable that once again the nation’s artistic and cultural heritage must suffer such serious damage,” Giuli said in a statement.
This is not the first time the sculpture, popularly known as the Elefantino, has been damaged. The tip of the same tusk was found broken off in November 2016.
That piece was successfully reattached during subsequent restoration work. The sculpture was created in 1667 by Ercole Ferrata based on a design by Bernini.
It stands a short distance from the Pantheon, one of Rome’s most visited tourist sites.
