A stone fragment fell on a tourist visiting Florence’s Basilica of the Holy Cross, killing him, on Thursday, Oct. 19, officials said.
The 16-square-inch piece of stone, was part of a support structure about 100 feet high.
The president of the church’s board of directors, Irene Sanesi, said the piece was from a part of the church that had been restored.
The church was closed by police, a spokesman for the national fire rescue service said. The fire service identified the victim as a male Spaniard in his 50s.
“Deeply sorry for the incident at the Basilica of the Holy Cross where a Spanish tourist was killed,” Florence’s Mayor Dario Nardella tweeted in Italian. “Engineers from the ministry are already on site.”
The basilica was full of tourists at the time, a tour guide told ANSA.it.
“At that moment, I was about fifteen meters away with the tourists I was accompanying when I saw a piece of stone fall. I did not see the impact with the person but I heard a woman, I believe his wife, start crying,” the guide said.
“I did not see the person falling to the ground because there were many people in front,” the guide added. “But I saw stone and blood fragments.”
Investigators immediately tried to ascertain whether there was any liability due to a lack of building maintenance. The Opera di Santa Croce, which oversees the monument, says it performed the latest checks a week ago.
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