vandalized statue Bernini Elephant and Obelisk
© ANSA via EPADamaged Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk in Piazza della Minerva.
Police in Rome are examining CCTV footage in efforts to discover who damaged one of the city's most famous sculptures, Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk.

The landmark work, tucked away in Piazza della Minerva, a little square near the Pantheon, features an elephant carrying the obelisk on its back and was first placed there in the 17th century.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his age, oversaw the sculpture of the elephant, which had the tip of its left trunk broken off in the incident on Sunday night.

Bernini statue elephant and Obelisk vandalized Rome
© EPAThe elephant's tusk was damaged by vandals.
Spanish tourists alerted local police to the damage the following day. The broken fragment, which was lying on the floor by the statue, was recovered and secured by the Vigili del Fuoco.

The elephant was commissioned in 1667 by the then pope, Alexander VII, to support an obelisk from ancient Egypt that had only recently been discovered in the Eternal City.

"The defaced image of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's elephant hurts all Romans. For us the protection of the city's heritage is crucial," said Virginia Raggi, Rome's newly-elected mayor.
Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk Rome
© EPABernini's Elephant and Obelisk in Piazza della Minerva
Ms Raggi added that authorities were investigating the events and trying to ascertain whether the damage was a result of vandalism.

"A first estimate of the damage suggests that it will be a few days before we try and reattach the fragment and return the statue to its former glory," the mayor said.

Nathalie Naim, a local councillor, shared photographs of the tusk fragment on Facebook.


"It is extremely serious that yet another one of our most important monuments has been damaged and was neglected by local and national politicians. Local police have retrieved the tusk but the damage will be irreversible, like that to the Barcaccia and many more," she commented.

In February 2015, fans of Dutch football club Feyenoord caused outrage when they damaged the Barcaccia, a fountain created by Bernini that stands at the bottom of Rome's fabled Spanish Steps.

Ms Naim called for better protection to be provided to monuments all over Rome. "We owe it to future generations to look after these monuments," she said. "They don't belong to us, we are only their guardians."