Global Courant
Italy’s culture minister is calling for “identification and punishment” of a man after he was filmed allegedly carving his and his fiancé’s names into Rome’s Colosseum.
Gennaro Sangiuliano tweeted Monday: “I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great discourtesy that a tourist defames one of the most famous places in the world, a historical heritage (site) like the Colosseum, for the name of his fiancee.”
“I hope whoever committed this act will be identified and sanctioned under our laws,” he continued.
The minister’s tweet included a blurry image of the young tourist, as well as a video that appeared to show him using keys to carve letters into one of the walls of the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheatre.
The inscription read “Ivan+Haley 23,” according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
The alleged incident took place on Friday and police were alerted by videos that emerged on social media, ANSA reported.
If convicted of a crime, the man could be fined at least €15,000 (US$16,360) or up to five years in prison, the news agency said.
A similar incident occurred in 2020, when an Irish tourist was accused of vandalizing the Colosseum, after security personnel saw him allegedly carved his initials into the old building and reported him to the police.
Reputo gravissimo, indegno en segno di grande inciviltà, che un turista sfregi uno dei luoghi più celebri al mondo, il Colosseo, per incidere il nome della sua fidanzata. Spero che chi ha compiuto questo stewed venga individualato en sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY
— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) June 26, 2023
