Vandals set fire to and destroyed a seminal artwork by one of Italy’s most famous living artists on Wednesday 12 July.<br /><br />By the time flames were doused, all that was left of the installation by Michelangelo Pistoletto was a charred frame.<br /><br />Mr Pistoletto’s artwork, titled “Venus of the Rags” had been on display outside Naples’ City Hall since 28 June.<br /><br />It featured a large plaster neoclassical nude Venus, inspired by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s 19th century “Venus with Apple,” picking through a mountain of rags.<br /><br />Pistoletto told the Corriere della Sera daily newspaper that there could be many reasons for the attack.
