In the late 1440s and early 1450s Donatello was working in Padua. Today I went to the site of one of his most famous works, the equestrian statue of the condottiere (mercenary soldier) Erasmo di Narni, who was nicknamed ‘Gattamelata’ (the ‘Honey Cat’). The poor statue is in a rough state, and the pigeons who roost on it throughout the days and nights–and consequently crap on it day and night–are taking their toll. It’s time to restore it and move it into a museum, as was done with the similar, though much older, equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, or, for that matter, the four horses of San Marco in Venice. Erasmo stoically waits his turn, probably wondering why that cute little David, also by Donatello, gets such a cozy home in the Bargello. Erasmo is only one of many endangered bronzes throughout Italy. And I had to wait too, to take my pictures of him without pigeons on his head, which I felt robbed him of his dignity–or Donatello’s dignity. They alighted so fast, when I found the statue momentarily bird-less, I took the picture immediately, catching one of the pigeons in flight.