A teenager is in hot water with Italian authorities after allegedly sneaking into Florence’s iconic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. He climbed all the way up to its dome in the middle of the night, and why? For a selfie!
Local media reports allege the 17-year-old, suspected to be from Lombardy, filmed himself navigating the cathedral’s internal stairwell before emerging onto a small external platform at the dome’s peak to capture his photo. He posted a video of the stunt on the Instagram account @dedelate, which boasts over 227,000 followers. I mean, why do it if it’s not gonna be on social media?
According to reports, the teenager reportedly hid inside the cathedral before closing time and had an accomplice film him from outside. The footage apparently also captures the teenager fleeing the scene.
“We have learned about the unauthorized access to Brunelleschi’s dome,” Luca Bagnoli, president of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, told La Nazione newspaper. The cathedral of Florence is a sacred and monumental place, a world heritage site. But unfortunately for some it is also a playground, and this is saddening. The relevant authorities will take care of the rest.”
Fabiola Minoletti, a vice-president of a Milan residents’ committee, told Il Giorno:
“Dede continues his exploits. Why can’t we contain these people, with such arrogant attitudes? He not only risks his life each time, but [the stunts] could generate dangerous emulations.”
This isn’t the first time the young man has courted danger and controversy for a social media stunt. Italian press reports allege he’s been involved in similar challenges before, including a climb of Milan Cathedral in May that reportedly resulted in charges. He reportedly also climbed the roof of Milan’s San Siro stadium and the Ariston Theater in San Remo.
According to The Guardian, one of the teenager’s followers has even upped the ante. They dared him to attempt a climb of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Okay, I understand – I was a teenager, too (and it feels like it was yesterday). I had my own idiotic adventures I wouldn’t repeat today, but at least I didn’t have social media to fuel my wild hormones and lack of judgment any further. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt or killed – and we’ve seen this too many times. So, teenager or not, I hope that Dede will come to his senses before it’s too late.
[via The Guardian]
