The renowned Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini's famous marble elephant sculpture located in Rome's Piazza della Minerva has suffered damage, with a four-inch piece of one of its tusks found on the ground over the weekend.
Local officials discovered the damage and made it public on Monday. This incident marks at least the second time the statue has experienced harm; a similar piece of the tusk was vandalized in 2016 and subsequently restored.
Rome has recently faced unusually heavy rainfall, leading authorities to investigate whether the damage stemmed from weather conditions or if it was an act of vandalism. They are currently reviewing security camera footage to determine the cause.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli expressed his concern, stating it is unacceptable for the nation's cultural heritage to endure such damage. He described the incident as an "absurd act of barbarity."
The sculpture, created by artist Ercole Ferrata in 1667 based on Bernini's designs, features an 18-foot-high red granite Egyptian obelisk on the elephant's back, which was uncovered by Dominican friars in 1665.
Authorities clarified that the broken piece was not part of the original sculpture but rather a section added during restoration efforts in 1977.
Bernini, a pivotal figure of the Baroque movement, is credited with many of Rome's greatest artistic landmarks, including the impressive baldacchino at St. Peter's Basilica and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa at the Cornaro Chapel.
In his 2021 book, The Artist and the Eternal City: Bernini, Pope Alexander VII, and the Making of Rome, author Lloyd Grossman highlights how Bernini and Pope Alexander VII revitalized Rome, shaping it into the vibrant city we recognize today.
