Dr. Broderick Arrested At Italy Museum After Breaking Off 600-year-old Statue's Finger

Patrick B. Broderick, M.D.

Florence police took Dr. Broderick into custody after breaking pinky finger from statue.

By H. Nelson Goodson

August 7, 2013

Florence, Italy - Police in Florence identified Patrick B. Broderick, M.D., 55, of New Fairfield, Connecticut as the suspect who broke a pinky finger off the 600-year-old statue of the Virgin by Florantine sculptor Giovanni d'Ambargio inside the Museo deil'Opera del Duomo. Police say, a guard saw Broderick getting to close to the statue and tried to stop him, but Broderick had already broken off the pinky finger off the statue before the guard could get to him.

Broderick was detained for questioning and then released. He could face a fine and the cost of fixing the statue. The museum has not filed any charges yet. Dr. Broderick was visiting the museum with his wife and two adult children. He is expected back in the U.S. by Monday.

Tourists are warned not to touch the statues at the museum, but Broderick failed to keep his distance because he was trying to measure the statue's hand with his own, according to police. Broderick an emergency surgeon at Danbury Hospital did apologized, but it might become an expensive moment for him, if the museum bills him for the damage done to the statue.

The pinky that Broderick broke had been a replacement for the missing marble pinky finger, according to the museum director Timothy Vernon.