An Austrian tourist thought it would be cute to appear to be sitting on the chaise lounge with Paolina Bonaparte as Venus Victorious statue in The Gipsoteca Antonio Canova museum in Possagno, Italy (in the north-eastern province of Treviso) I mean you have to get that content for your socials. Mind you...it is a 200 year-old statue.
Well, when he posed for his picture, he accidentally sat on Paolina's toes... breaking off three of them - you can see in the video, he knows he did something wrong, looks down and sees the broken pieces and skedaddles.
The Toe Caper
- The Carabinieri police in Treviso, Italy, confirmed the incident on July 31st, saying the tourist was responsible for damage to three fingers of the right foot of a plaster model of the statue "Paolina Bonaparte as Venus Victorious," made in the early 1800s by Antonio Canova, the namesake of the museum.
Security managers noticed the damage and contacted police which led to an investigation and the pursuit of the 'Toe-crusher' (my name, not theirs).
MYSTERY SOLVED
When the Carabinieri police looked over the registry of visitors they contacted the woman that signed in on behalf of herself and husband, she burst into tears and admitted that her husband was indeed the 'toe-crusher". Police are deciding whether to file charges. The museum is looking into restoring Paolina's toes.
For more on the Toe-Crusher story PEOPLE