Tourist filmed carving his fiancée’s name onto the Colosseum: “A sign of great incivility”

July 7, 2023

Anger over tourist graffiti at Colosseum

Video of tourist carving name into Rome’s Colosseum sparks outrage

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A man was filmed carving his fiancée’s name onto the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, on Friday. The freestanding amphitheater is nearly 2,000 years old, and considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“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, to engrave the name of his fiancée,” Italy’s Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Reputo gravissimo, indegno e 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 gesto venga individuato e sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY

— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) June 26, 2023

“I hope that whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws,” he said.

The tweet includes a video of the vandal using keys to carve into the stone of the Colosseum, which was filmed by a bystander.

Italian news outlet ANSA reported that the carving read “Ivan + Haley 23,” and that the man in the video has yet to be identified by the proper authorities.

He risks a fine of at least 15,000 euros for defacing the Colosseum, in addition to a potential jail sentence of up to five years, the outlet reported.

C Mandler