Just weeks after a British tourist was fined for carving her name on the wall of the Colosseum, a teenage girl is accused of doing the same.
The 17-year-old girl from Switzerland was visiting Rome with her family and was discovered to have carved the letter 'N' into the brick pillar of the nearly 2.000-year-old amphitheater.
17-year-old girl was filmed while writing on the Colosseum
Italian tour guide David Battaglino filmed the illegal action last Friday and quickly alerted security.
“This is the first time I have filmed vandalism at the Colosseum but in the past six years I have seen dozens of cases,” he told me. Republic of Rome of Italy. "They even spit at me when prompted."
After filming, Battaglino told the girl's parents that what their child had done was illegal, but the girl's parents chased him away with "annoying gestures".
When confronted, the girl's parents said: "She's just a child, she's done nothing wrong."
Local media reported that the girl and her parents were then taken to police headquarters in Piazza Venezia, Rome, for questioning. Italian police have now opened an investigation into the allegations.
Under Italian law, those who commit graffiti on the Colosseum can be fined $16.850 or imprisoned for two to five years.
The clip then went viral, making many people confused by the lack of respect for historical sites.
A British tourist last month was also shocked by the same action. Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness trainer who lives in Bristol, England, claims to not know how ancient the 80AD (80 AD) landmark is until he wrote it on the wall of the Colosseum. Specifically, he used the key to carve "Ivan + Hayley 23" into the 2.000-year-old UNESCO world heritage site and was videotaped.
Inside the Colosseum from 2.000 years ago
Mr. Dimitrov confessed when he was arrested: It is a shame and a pity to learn about the antiquity of the monument.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano described the visitor's actions as "insulting to all people around the world who appreciate the value of archeology, monuments and history".
