RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Just about every museum in the world has the same cardinal rule: no touching. A rule one American tourist failed to observe on a family vacation to Florence, Italy. He was comparing his own finger to the fingers on a 600-year-old statue - just measuring - when he nudged its ancient pinky and it snapped right off. In Florence, that can get you arrested. He did apologize, and his clumsy hands might be even more embarrassing because he's a surgeon. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.