A tourist from the United States who was visiting the Colosseum saw no difference between the nearly 2,000-year-old travertine walls and a school diary and did not hesitate for a second to engrave his and his partner’s name on a from the walls of the Flavian Amphitheater. “Ivan Haley 23”, he wrote on Friday, in front of his partner, using a key, on one of the walls of one of the wonders of the world.
The act was recorded by another American tourist, Californian Ryan Lutz, who filmed what had happened and published the video on YouTube and Reddit. The publication was later distributed by the Italian media, and now the authorities are trying to use this graphic documentation to identify the guilty couple and punish them with an exemplary fine to prevent other visitors from wanting to show their love at the expense of spoiling the goods Italian cultures. The Colosseum Archaeological Park has already filed a complaint and the police are looking for them for deteriorating cultural heritage and violating urban police regulations. According to the agency, they can face a fine of up to 15,000 euros, up to five years in prison and a ban on entering the Colosseum.
Lutz, a tourist on a two-month trip through Europe, told the AP that he had just finished a guided tour when he saw the person “scribbling his name” on the wall of the Colosseum. “As you can see in the video, I approach him and ask him, perplexed: ‘Are you serious? Is it really for real?’” he recalled. “All he could do was smile at me.” According to Lutz, he tried to warn a guard and his supervisor about it, but they stood idly by even though he pointed out the perpetrator and showed them the video. He decided to post it the next day on social media. “Carving your name seems like a selfish act to me”, he opined.
The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, considered “very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist disfigures one of the most famous places in the world, a heritage of history, to engrave the name of his partner”. Sangiuliano has already tightened the penalties against climate activists who vandalize cultural heritage, be it works of art or monuments, which now range from 20,000 to 60,000 euros, in addition to carrying criminal penalties, to cover the high costs of cleanup . “It is a very serious act. I think there is a lack of education about respect for memory, which is ultimately respect for oneself. We are in a UNESCO world heritage site. We are doing everything possible to locate the perpetrator”, lamented the director of the Coliseum, Alfonsina Russo. “It is truly an uncivil and senseless gesture – the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, agreed. Mark with keys the Colosseum, a symbol of Rome and heritage of humanity. We strongly condemn this barbaric behavior, which offends the whole city and the whole world. I hope that the person responsible will be punished as he deserves.”
Nine people have been reported since August for having vandalized the Flavian Amphitheater by writing or carving words on it. Last summer, security guards at the Colosseum found a Canadian tourist writing her name on a stone, but then the guards quickly alerted the police. In 2014, a Russian tourist was fined 20,000 euros and sentenced to four years in prison – which he did not complete – for drawing a huge letter K on one of the walls of the Amphitheater. Two days ago, a 32-year-old Argentine man flew a drone inside the archaeological area, a prohibited activity. The carabinieri identified him and he was reported for violating the ban on flying over the area.
