Fixing the fountain’s horse sculptures and frieze will cost nearly $6,000. The alleged offender is the latest tourist to harm artwork in response to peer pressure or in pursuit of social media clout

A duke in Florence commissioned the fountain in 1559. Francesco Bini via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0

A 28-year-old bachelorette visiting Florence damaged the Italian city’s 16th-century Fountain of Neptune —to the tune of nearly $6,000.

Located in Piazza della Signoria, in front of Palazzo Vecchio , the fountain was commissioned in 1559 by the Florentine Duke Cosimo I , also known as Cosimo de’ Medici, of Tuscany’s infamous Medici dynasty . The fountain’s centerpiece is a massive nude statue of Neptune , the Roman god of the sea. His nearly 14-foot white marble figure is surrounded by carved horses, nymphs and shells.

According to a statement from the city of Florence, on a Saturday afternoon in April, the woman climbed over the small metal fence surrounding the fountain.…