A controversial decision to construct an ice skating rink around a bronze statue honoring legendary opera singer Luciano Pavarotti has sparked widespread outrage in Italy. The memorial, located in the northern Italian city of Pesaro, features the renowned tenor dressed in a tailcoat and holding his signature handkerchief, but has become the center of a heated debate over respect and public commemoration.
Nicoletta Mantovani, Pavarotti's widow, has publicly condemned the positioning of the ice rink around the life-sized tribute to her late husband, calling it deeply 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." Pavarotti, who died of pancreatic cancer at age 71 in 2007, is considered one of the greatest tenors of all time and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
The controversy intensified when Pesaro's mayor, Andrea Biancani, posted a doctored image on Facebook showing the famous tenor ice skating while holding a hockey stick. In the November 23 post, he encouraged skaters to "high-five Pavarotti" or give the statue a celebratory gesture. "The smile, the humor, the ability to see the bright side of things. Let's never lose it," he wrote after Mantovani first complained about the installation. The mayor's post, which remains online, has garnered numerous critical comments from citizens concerned about both safety issues and poor taste.
City officials have since acknowledged their mistake and formally apologized to Mantovani and Pavarotti's family. A spokesman for Pesaro's city hall explained that installers mistakenly built the rink around the statue instead of positioning it nearby as originally planned. "There was no intention of disrespect," the spokesman said on behalf of the mayor. "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."
While officials state it's not feasible to dismantle the rink or relocate the statue at this stage of the holiday season, they have constructed a short protective wall around the memorial to separate it from the main skating area. However, skaters can still potentially touch the monument if they venture close to the barrier's edge, raising ongoing concerns about the appropriateness of the setup.
The Pavarotti statue was inaugurated in April 2024 to honor the late singer and commemorate his connection to the region, as he and his wife maintained a holiday home on the nearby Adriatic Coast. Pavarotti's illustrious career included his collaboration with Placido Domingo and José Carreras as The Three Tenors, which produced the biggest-selling classical album in history. His final public performance took place during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, making the current controversy particularly poignant for fans who remember his lasting contributions to opera and classical music.
