The Italian Ministry of Culture has announced the restoration of a pair of marble bull testicles originally part of a first-century Roman sculpture in the Capitoline Museums. The restoration, costing €120,000, replaces fragments lost in the 19th century. The British Museum, responding to the move, issued a statement condemning "
the degradation of cultural heritage through mass tourism" and cited the restoration as a targeted rebuke to overtourism. The statement follows a prolonged dispute between the two institutions over the Parthenon Marbles.
The bull’s testicles, carved from Carrara marble, are now displayed in a humidity-controlled case.
