An American tourist at the Florence's Museo dell'Opera del Duomo clearly did not listen his mother: "you can look, but you can't touch."
Good thing the "You break it, You buy it" motto didn't apply to a 14th century statue on display, according to ABC News. An unnamed tourist broke off the finger of the priceless masterpiece.
"The statue is believed to be the creation of Giovanni d'Ambrogio, a Florentine sculptor who lived during the late medieval or early Renaissance periods," the Los Angeles Times reports.
A security guard spotted him, but wasn't able to prevent the accident; the signs reminding visitors not to touch the artwork were ignored by the tourist. (View the photo of the broken statue here.)
Ambra Nepi, the head of communications for Florence's famous marble Duomo, told ABC News it was an unfortunate accident, but the broken finger was not part of the sculpture. The original piece was reportedly damaged and repaired years earlier.
"This was already a very fragile piece of art," Nep told ABC News. "But every year throughout the Duomo we have many items that are damaged and broken."
The museum's full-time staff of art restorers has surveyed the damage.
"We are confident that it can be eventually restored," Nepi told ABC News.
According to ABC News, the Museo dell'Opera does not have surveillance cameras, but security guards closely monitor the pieces.
"[The accident] happened very quickly," Nepi said.
The American director of the museum, Monsignor Timothy Verdon, was angered by the lack of respect the tourist' had for the work of art.
"In a globalized world like ours, the fundamental rules for visiting a museum have been forgotten, that is: Do not touch the works," Verdon said, according to ABC News.
The museum has not pressed any charges against the unnamed tourist, who was reportedly taken to a local police station for questioning and a statement.
