Pavarotti statue stuck in skating rink sparks outrage in Italy

In this undated image, Luciano Pavarotti is shown. (AP Photo/file)

ROME — Italian officials are on thin ice after a skating rink was built around a bronze statue of Luciano Pavarotti and passersby were encouraged to “high-five” the famous tenor.

Located in the northern Italian city of Pesaro, the monument features Pavarotti in a tailcoat, holding his signature handkerchief in hand.

Nicoletta Mantovani, the last wife of Pavarotti – who died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71 in 2007 – complained that the positioning of the ice rink around the life-size homage to her late husband was disrespectful.

“I’m sorry the city allowed something like this, because it affects Luciano’s image and the respect he deserves,” she told the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino last week. “It’s just not right.”

Pesaro’s mayor, Andrea Biancani, came under fire after posting a doctored image of the famous tenor skating, complete with a hockey stick, on Facebook on Nov. 23. In the post, he suggested that skaters #daiUnCinqueAPavarotti” or to “high-five” the statue.

“The smile, the humour, the ability to see the bright side of things. Let’s never lose it,” he wrote on the post after Mantovani first complained.

Biancani explained that the city decided to inaugurate the rink to kick off the holiday season as planned despite the bad tone.

The mayor’s post, which is still online, garnered several critical comments, with concerns about safety, should people try and high-five the statue, as well as concerns about poor taste.

‘No intention of disrespect’

Biancani has now formally apologized to Mantovani and a spokesman for the city hall told CNN Tuesday that it was not their intention to offend the singer’s family or his legacy.

The spokesman said that the installers mistakenly built the rink around the statue, instead of next to it.

“There was no intention of disrespect,” the spokesman told CNN on behalf of the mayor. He added that the presence of Pavarotti embedded in the ice was not part of the original plan for the Christmas rink.

“I was assured that Pavarotti wouldn’t be touched or incorporated into the ice rink floor,” he told local media.

While officials say it isn’t possible to dismantle the rink or move the statue at this stage, they have built a short wall around it, separating it from the rest of the rink. However, skaters can still touch the monument if they pass close to the edge.

The Pavarotti statue was inaugurated in April 2024 to honour the late singer and his wife who had a holiday home on the Adriatic Coast nearby.

Pavarotti is considered one of the greatest tenors of all time and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

His collaboration with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras as The Three Tenors produced the biggest selling classical album in history.

Pavarotti’s last public performance was during the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin.

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN