Rome
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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.
Located in the northern Italian city of Pesaro, the monument features Pavarotti in a tailcoat, holding his signature handkerchief in hand.
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.
“I’m sorry the city allowed something like this, because it…