The “Venus of Rags”, one of the most famous sculptures by the Italian artist Arte Povera Michelangelo Pistolettowas destroyed today in Naples by fire and the authorities arrested a 32-year-old homeless man for arson.

The work, about 10 meters high, depicting the goddess of love and beauty in front of a huge pile of colorful clothes and rags, was located near the town hall. It had been placed there on June 28, in the presence of the mayor and its creator.

The Mayor Gaetano Manfredi he said the early morning fire was “a violent act that left us speechless” and promised the project would be rebuilt. Michelangelo Pistoletto said he felt “bitter and hurt” by the vandalism of his Venus, the mayor added after speaking to him. But he hoped that this fire would be “an opportunity for a new beginning”.

Passers-by left a few flowers and notes on the pavements. “From your ashes may a better city be born,” one of them read, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

After reviewing the neighborhood’s surveillance camera footage, the police arrested one for arson 32 year old homeless.

Many museums around the world host various versions of “Venus of Rags,” a work that juxtaposes the beauty of classical civilization with the trash of modern society. Pistoletto, 90 years old today, is considered one of the most important representatives of the Arte Povera movement. His works have been exhibited in New York, London and Paris.