A tourist visiting the Palazzo Maffei museum in Verona was caught on surveillance camera damaging a Swarovski crystal-encrusted chair before hastily leaving the scene, prompting widespread outrage and concern over the safety of fragile artworks.
The incident, which unfolded inside the historic museum, involved a man sitting on the delicate chair—part of artist Nicola Bolla’s installation titled “Van Gogh”—causing it to collapse under his weight. The museum described the chair as “extremely fragile” and fully covered in hundreds of Swarovski crystals.
“The nightmare of every museum has become a reality, even at Palazzo Maffei,” the museum wrote in a Facebook post accompanying the surveillance footage. In the video, a museum staffer narrates: “What you just saw would be ridiculous if it hadn’t, unfortunately, actually happened.”
According to museum officials, the tourist waited for security personnel to leave the area before sitting on the chair, apparently attempting to pose for a photo. The incident resulted in “serious damage” to the artwork.
Photos later released by the museum show the shocked reactions of onlookers in the immediate aftermath. The tourist then quickly exited the gallery before staff could intervene.
For several days, museum officials feared the chair might be beyond repair.
“We were truly worried it might not be possible to restore it,” the museum stated.
However, thanks to the coordinated efforts of the local police, museum security, and expert restorers, the artwork was successfully brought back to life.
“Heartfelt thanks go to the police, our security department, and the restorers, whose valuable work allowed the recovery of the work,” Palazzo Maffei announced in a follow-up post.
With input from Fox News
