A tourist who was caught carving their name into Rome’s Colosseum has been dragged online, and Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to punish the man for his foolish act.
Earlier this week, a Reddit user /u/regenerate_life uploaded a video of a tourist who was carving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend onto one of the walls of the World Heritage Site.
In the video, entitled “Asshole tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome”, the Reddit user can be heard confronting the tourist, saying, “are you serious man?” before walking off and calling him a “stupid asshole”.
During the short confrontation, the tourist simply turned to the camera and smiled before going back to his DIY art project on the iconic Colosseum wall.
Since /u/regenerate_life’s video went viral, the user revealed that he did report the incident to staff but they “sadly didn’t seem too bothered” to stop the man.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, the man reportedly etched the words “Ivan + Hayley 23/6/23” with a set of keys.
Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano condemned the tourist’s behaviour on Twitter, calling for the man to be “identified and sanctioned”.
“I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, the Colosseum,” he wrote.
ABC News reported that Tourist Minister Daniela Santanchè also hoped for the tourist to be sanctioned for his actions.
“We cannot allow those who visit our nation to feel free to behave in this way,” she said.
Italian officials say the tourist risks at least a €15,000 (AUD $24,808) fine and imprisonment for up to five years, per ANSA.
Unfortunately for this historic icon, this is not the first time that someone has carved something onto its walls.
In 2020, a 32-year-old Irish tourist was accused of carving his initials into the Colosseum.
And in 2014, a Russian tourist was fined €20,000 (AUD $33,084 at the time of writing) for carving the letter “K” on the Colosseum’s brick work, per CNN.
I feel like it won’t be long until tourists get banned from visiting this World Heritage Site.
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