Michelangelo Pistoletto's Venere degli Stracci destroyed by fire in Naples

Michelangelo Pistoletto's Venere degli Stracci, a monumental public sculpture installed in Piazza del Municipio in Naples, was destroyed by fire at dawn on July 12, 2023, less than two weeks after its inauguration. The work, a giant version of the artist's 1967 original, was part of the public art program "OPEN. Arte in centro" curated by Vincenzo Trione and supported by the Comune di Napoli. The fire was caused by a homeless man who threw a lit cigarette at the pile of clothes, as revealed by surveillance cameras. The sculpture, made of a cement cast of Bertel Thorvaldsen's neoclassical Venus with a pile of colored rags, had drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some criticizing its scale and placement. Mayor Gaetano Manfredi announced a fundraising campaign for its reconstruction with popular participation. Pistoletto described the work as "defenseless" and a symbol of the dualism between reason and emotion, beauty and decay. The incident sparked debates on public art, security, and the fragility of works exposed to urban life.