FLORENCE, ITALY – An American tourist broke a finger off a 500-year-old statue in a Florence museum. He is an emergency-room surgeon in Connecticut and he was arrested in front of his family after accidentally snapping the finger of a statue when he touched it.
The man was apparently trying to measure his own hand against that of the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.
The statue was part of a late 14th or 15th century marble sculptural group by Giovanni d’Ambrogio. A security officer apparently tried to stop Broderick from touching the art work but was too late. The man has apologized and he was later released from custody and will not face any penalties.