Authorities said the tantrum was the act of a “deranged person”…

A tourist has damaged two antique statues in a Roman gallery after being denied a meeting with Pope Francis. The vandal from the US (where else?), was visiting the Chiaramonti Gallery in Vatican City when he requested an audience with the Pope, according to Fox News. When his offer was refused, the man grabbed a nearby marble statuette and threw it on the ground, damaging it in the process.  

When gallery staff noticed the tantrum, the man proceeded to smash another statue as he ran from authorities. The Gendarmerie, who serve as police and security in Vatican City, later apprehended the man and took him into custody, having accumulated some $20,000 worth of damage during the outburst. Speaking of the incident, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the tantrum was the act of a “deranged person.”

Man topples two ancient Roman busts in the Vatican Museums 🤬https://t.co/4DJfjhA0dU pic.twitter.com/Ge0roZQWkp

— Gareth Harney (@OptimoPrincipi) October 5, 2022

“The [statue] faces have not suffered great damage, perhaps one of the two specimens has detached a piece of the nose,” Bruni. It’s estimated that the damage to the antique could take over 300 hours to repair, given the gallery’s storeroom of some of the most important collections of Roman artefacts. The outburst marks the insurance of tourist vandals running amuck in the ancient city.

In July a tourist from the US (duh) carved their name into the side of the Colosseum, while another pair of US vacationers pushed their electric scooters down the Spanish steps, causing $27,000 worth of damage. Rumour has it that the Pope denied any meetings because he was too busy dripping in The Weeknd’s Puma collection (that’s sarcasm, for any US readers).  

@graemenesbit #chiaramonti #pope #vatican #rome #italy #museum ♬ original sound – Graeme Nesbit