WATCH: Italian government vows to punish tourist who defaced Colosseum wall
· 27.06.2023 · 17:30:11 ··· ··· Tuesday ·· 2 (2)
ShanghaiEye魔都眼 Italian authorities are looking for a tourist who left graffiti on a wall of the Colosseum, with Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano calling for exemplary punishment for the so far unidentified man.
The tourist was caught in a video, posted on social media on Saturday (June 23), scribbling his and his girlfriend's name with a key on an internal wall of the ancient Roman stone amphitheatre. He left the inscription "Ivan + Hayley 23".
He appears smiling, even as the author of the video reprimands him.
In a statement released on Monday (June 26), Sangiuliano condemned the act of vandalism against "one of the most famous places in the world" as "very serious, unworthy, and a sign of great incivility".
"I hope that whoever did this ... will be identified and punished according to our laws", he added.
According to the ANSA news agency, the Carabinieri police are investigating, and the man risks a fine of at least 15,000 euros ($16,413.00) and a jail sentence of up to five years.
Built 2,000 years ago, the Colosseum was the biggest amphitheatre in the Roman empire and used to host gladiator fights, executions, and animal hunts. Today, it is Italy's most popular tourist attraction.
According to ANSA, the monument has repeatedly suffered acts of vandalism, with dozens of visitors caught in recent years leaving inscriptions or trying to steal stone fragments from the monument.
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