The work featured a large classical statue of the Roman goddess of love and beauty before a huge pile of brightly coloured, discarded clothes.
The statue melted and the clothes were turned to ash, leaving just the metal structure on which they were assembled.
The Naples installation was one of several versions of the artwork.
Police detained a homeless man on Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of being behind the fire.
The man, 32, faces possible charges of arson and destruction of cultural heritage after being identified using video surveillance footage and traced to a canteen on Via Marina.
Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi expressed “shock at an act of great violence that leaves you speechless”.
But he also added that “the city won’t give up”, saying he had spoken to 90-year-old Pistoletto and agreed that the work would be re-created, possibly with the help of a fund-raising campaign.
He said the Pistoletto foundation had informed him some days ago that a social media ‘contest’ of sorts had began inviting people to torch the work.
“Unfortunately, we live in a society in which these acts of gratuitous violence are the order of the day,” Manfredi said.
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