Vandalism Strikes Urs Fischer's Big Clay #4 in Florence and Ancient Fresco in Pompeii

Two acts of vandalism have targeted artworks in Italy. In Florence, a 50-year-old Czech man spray-painted an orange oval on Urs Fischer's 12-meter-tall sculpture Big Clay #4 in Piazza della Signoria, claiming he wanted to 'improve' it and impersonating the artist. The sculpture was installed in September 2017 for the 30th Biennale Internazionale d'Antiquariato di Firenze and the InFlorence project. The vandal was fined up to €3,000 and faces possible arrest; he had previously been charged for indecent exposure in the same square in 2015. Meanwhile, in Pompeii, an unknown perpetrator damaged a fresco depicting Bacchus and Ariadne in a closed domus at Regio IX, insula 5, 14-16, removing a 10-centimeter section. Parco Archeologico di Pompei director Massimo Osanna reported the incident to the Carabinieri and mobilized restorers. The fresco is located in an area not open to the public.