VIGGIU ‘- “Apparently the Germans have been disrespectful and should be prosecuted criminally and civilly. They are assholes.” This is how Vittorio Sgarbi, Undersecretary for Culture, commented on the destruction of the “Domina” statue by German influencer Janis Danner, who is followed by one and a half million people on Instagram. The statue was created by the renowned artist Enrico Butti from Viggiù in his youth and had been kept at Villa Arceo for years. However, last Tuesday, the German influencer, who had rented the villa with his girlfriend and four other friends, including influencers and models, destroyed the statue in order to take a selfie to post on Instagram. Six people are under investigation for vandalism.
The statue is estimated to be worth around 200,000 euros, and the six individuals have been reported to the police for vandalism. After destroying the statue, Danner and his friends enjoyed a nice trip on Lake Como, only offering 200 euros to the owner of the luxurious property as compensation, claiming that Butti’s work was just a sand statue.
Without mincing words, Undersecretary Sgarbi, in an interview with Adnkronos, also revealed that he personally owns two statues by Butti, one of which is made of bronze. “This is the second time it has happened. It had already happened that an Austrian sat on the statue of Paolina Borghese in Possagno,” Sgarbi recalled, not hesitating to call the tourists who damaged the artwork “assholes.” The undersecretary was also outraged by the 200 euros that the influencers allegedly handed over as compensation, according to Villa Alceo owner Bruno Golferini. “They can keep their two hundred euros,” bitterly concluded the undersecretary.
