Italian town freezes Pavarotti statue knee-deep in Christmas ice rink, angering widow

An Italian mayor has apologised to the family of opera star Luciano Pavarotti after the town of Pesaro encased a statue honouring the late singer within a Christmas ice rink.

The singer's widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, told local media that she was "angry and upset" at what she called the decision to "ridicule" her late husband.

The temporary ice rink was constructed in the centre of the town's piazza, leaving Pavrotti's statue knee-deep in ice and surrounded by perspex walls.

In response, Mayor Andrea Biancani said that he didn't mean to offend anyone, and admitted that his council had "made a mistake".

Before it was opened on 29 November, Biancani posted a doctored image of Pavarotti's statue playing ice hockey with the hashtag #DaiUnCinqueAPavarotti, which translates to "Give a high-five to Pavarotti".

"I didn't expect a town would allow this treatment of the memory and the image of a person who made Italy great around the world," Ms Mantovani told local outlet Il Resto del Carlino.

She accused the council of making a "poorly executed, absurd decision".

The life-size bronze statue was officially unveiled in Pesaro in April 2024, with Ms Mantovani and the couple's daughter, Alice, in attendance.

The couple often holidayed in Pesaro, where Pavarotti had a villa and was an honorary citizen.

Biancini told Il Resto del Carlino, which nicknamed the incident "Pavarotti on Ice", that when plans for the ice rink were initially presented to him, he was assured that the Pavarotti statue would not be touched and that it was only later that he found out designers had been forced to alter their construction.

He said it would not be possible to dismantle the rink or move the statue at this late stage, but insisted that it would "not happen again".

Pavarotti was an Italian tenor, and is widely known as one of the most successful opera stars of all time.

His performances in the Three Tenors concerts were seen around the world, and his rendition of Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, which he performed at the 1990 football World Cup in Italy.

His final performance was at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.

He died the following year at the age of 71, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Pavarotti left behind four daughters from his two marriages. Ms Mantovani was his second wife. She remarried, to financial advisor Alberto Tinarelli, in 2020.