Bacchus statue: 'Disgusting' tourist who imitated sex acts on famous statue in Florence faces lifetime ban from the city
A female tourist slammed as “disgusting” for imitating sex acts on the famous Bacchus statue in Florence, Italy, is now facing a lifetime ban from the city.
The tourist was filmed simulating sex with the statue, a Roman god of wine and excess. The woman, whose identity and nationality are not yet known, was branded “disgusting” after she was seen climbing up the bronze statue.
She reportedly climbed up to Giambologna's nude Bacchus and started pretending to kiss him. She then proceeded to grind her backside against the statue’s crotch as her friend took pictures as she imitated sex acts.
The pictures sparked fury amongst Italian locals with one writing “crazy”, and another saying “tourists go home” in the comment section of the post shared on Instagram. Patrizia Asproni from Confcultura, a cultural heritage organisation, said: “Florence is a city that does not make visitors respect it. These continuous manifestations of rudeness and incivility occur because everyone feels entitled to do what they want with impunity. We need to apply the ‘Singapore model’: tight controls, very high fines, zero tolerance.”
Italian officials are reportedly trying to identify the woman, with Florence City Hall suggesting she was “presumably in a state of inebriation”. It said that, if found, she would be fined and could be banned from the city for life.
The country’s culture ministry was outraged after the pictures of the tourist’s actions were shared widely on social media. The mayor’s office in Florence called it an act that “mimicked sex”.
The Bacchus stands on a plinth on a street corner near the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge and is a modern replica of the 16th Century work by sculptor Giambologna. The original is kept in the nearby Bargello museum.
Florence is one of the world's foremost tourist destinations. In 2023, around 1.5 million people visited the city - which has a population of just 382,000 - between June and September. Local residents have long struggled with the huge influx of tourists, which in the summer months turns Florence's narrow streets into steady streams of people.