<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Italian officials are on thin ice after a skating rink was built around a bronze statue of Luciano Pavarotti and passersby were encouraged to "high-five" the famous tenor.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Located in the northern Italian city of Pesaro, the monument features Pavarotti in a tailcoat, holding his signature handkerchief in hand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nicoletta Mantovani, the last wife of Pavarotti – who died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71 in 2007 – complained that the positioning of the ice rink around the life-size homage to her late husband was disrespectful.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australias-most-trusted-distrusted-brands-revealed-bunnings-temu-big-banks-supermarkets/89b18750-26d7-461d-82bb-ffa86b0d06d5" rel="" target="" title="The big movers in Australia's most trusted, distrusted brands"><strong><span>The big movers in Australia's most trusted, distrusted brands</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm sorry the city allowed something like this, because it affects Luciano's image and the respect he deserves," she told the newspaper </span><a href="https://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/pesaro/cronaca/pavarotti-statua-pista-ghiaccio-sdegno-vedova-h75yt83v"><em><span>Il Resto del Carlino</span></em></a><span> last week. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's just not right."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pesaro's mayor, Andrea Biancani, came under fire after posting a doctored image of the famous tenor skating, complete with a hockey stick, on Facebook on November 23.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/pavarotti-statue-stuck-in-skating-rink-sparks-outrage-in-italy/9564bfe7-6e4a-4ab3-84f9-3d30286c896e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> In the post, he suggested that skaters #daiUnCinqueAPavarotti" or to "high-five" the statue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The smile, the humour, the ability to see the bright side of things. Let's never lose it," he wrote on the post after Mantovani first complained.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Biancani explained that the city decided to inaugurate the rink to kick off the holiday season as planned despite the bad tone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The mayor's post, which is still online, garnered several critical comments, with concerns about safety, should people try and high-five the statue, as well as concerns about poor taste.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>'No intention of disrespect'</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Biancani has now formally apologised to Mantovani and a spokesman for the city hall told CNN that it was not their intention to offend the singer's family or his legacy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The spokesman said that the installers mistakenly built the rink around the statue, instead of next to it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There was no intention of disrespect," the spokesman told CNN on behalf of the mayor. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He added that the presence of Pavarotti embedded in the ice was not part of the original plan for the Christmas rink.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was assured that Pavarotti wouldn't be touched or incorporated into the ice rink floor," he told local media.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While officials say it isn't possible to dismantle the rink or move the statue at this stage, they have built a short wall around it, separating it from the rest of the rink. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, skaters can still touch the monument if they pass close to the edge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Pavarotti statue was inaugurated in April 2024 to honour the late singer and his wife who had a holiday home on the Adriatic Coast nearby.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pavarotti is considered one of the greatest tenors of all time and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His collaboration with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras as The Three Tenors produced the biggest-selling classical album in history.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pavarotti's last public performance was during the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin.</span></div></div>