An unidentified tourist was filmed vandalizing the Colosseum in Rome on Friday June 23. In a video uploaded to Youtube by another visitor to the site, identified by the Associated Press as Ryan Lutz, the tourist can be seen using his keys to carve the words “Ivan + Hayley 23” into the wall of the Roman amphitheater. The footage gained traction almost immediately, catching the attention of Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, who Twitter request that the vandal be identified and punished under Italian law.
“Are you serious, man? Lutz asked the man during filming. The man didn’t respond, just turned around and smiled before turning around and continuing to carve his everlasting love note into the wall. “It’s screwed up, man,” Lutz said, before walking away to find a security guard to report the incident to. lutz said PA that neither the guard nor the on-site supervisor did anything after he identified the vandal to them. However, Colosseum director Alfonsina Russo told the New York Times that staff at the amphitheater were not made aware of the vandalism until last Monday, after the video circulated online. Russo also clarified that the vandalized wall was not originally part of the nearly 2,000-year-old structure; rather, it was installed during a restoration in the mid-19th century.
The Colosseum has not yet responded to Hyperallergicrequest for comment.
As the clip traveled all the avenues of the web, Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano denounced the vandal’s behavior, calling it “very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility”. Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè also tweeted on the seriousness of this incident, saying that she hoped the tourist would be disciplined “so that he understands the seriousness of the act”.
If caught, the the tourist could be imprisoned up to five years and fines of up to €15,000 (~$16,368) for defacing an archaeological site. While the bill proposed by Minister Sangiuliano five-figure fines for vandalism of monuments and heritage sites to curb climate emergency protests unanimously adopted by the Council of Ministers last April, the Italian government has imposed severe penalties for the degradation of the Colosseum on several occasions in the past. In 2014, a Russian tourist was imprisoned for four months and fined €20,000 (~$21,823) for carve a large letter K in the amphitheater.
