Late singer’s widow says building ‘ugly’ ice rink around statue in Pesaro is disrespectful and ridicules his memory
An Italian mayor has apologised to the family of Luciano Pavarotti after a Christmas ice rink entrapped a statue of the legendary opera singer – and skaters were invited to “give [him] a high five”.
The lifesize bronze, featuring Pavarotti wearing a tuxedo with his arms outstretched and holding a handkerchief in one hand, was unveiled to much fanfare last year in a square in the centre of Pesaro, a coastal city in the Marche region.
The statue was intended as a tribute to the late tenor, who had a home and honorary citizenship in Pesaro, also the birthplace of the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini.
But instead, surrounding Pavarotti with “a very ugly” ice rink had “ridiculed” his memory, Nicoletta Mantovani, the tenor’s widow, said after images of the statue “trapped” up to its knees were circulated online.
