Two of his most famous works have been victims of vandalism
Laszlo Toth, a mentally ill geologist, jumped a barrier at St. Peter's Basilica in 1972 and smashed Michelangelo's "Pieta." The assault severed the Madonna's nose and forearm, as well as a portion of her eyelid and veil. Hundreds of pieces of marble from the costly statue were later recovered by restoration crews, including one addressed to the Vatican by a guilty American tourist who had picked it up amid the uproar. It required ten months of repair work before the "Pieta" could be displayed again, this time beneath a layer of protective glass.
The "David" suffered a similar fate in 1991, when a chisel-wielding vandal smashed off part of a toe on its left foot.
