Tourist damages 300-year-old painting in Italy while making meme
24 Jun 2025

A 300-year-old painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, was damaged after a tourist tripped and fell while posing for a photo.

The artwork, a portrait of Ferdinando de' Medici by Anton Domenico Gabbiani from 1712, was on display at the gallery when the incident occurred.

Security footage showed the visitor losing balance and falling into the canvas, creating a tear near the bottom of the painting.

Gallery director says trend of 'museum selfies' is rampant
Legal action

The unidentified tourist was quickly apprehended and reported to authorities for damaging cultural heritage.

The painting, which is usually kept in Palazzo Pitti, a separate art gallery, was temporarily on display at the Uffizi when calamity struck.

It has now been taken off display for repairs, with plans to reopen the exhibition on July 2.

Uffizi Gallery director Simone Verde noted that "the problem of visitors coming to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant."

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New measures

In light of this incident, Verde said the gallery is considering imposing restrictions on visitor behavior.

He said they would "set very precise limits, preventing behavior that is not compatible with the sense of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage."

This incident comes after another similar case at Palazzo Maffei in Verona earlier this month, when a tourist damaged a crystal-encrusted chair by artist Nicola Bolla while posing for a photo.