A tourist, whose identity remains unknown, has caused outrage in Italy after he was caught carving his and his apparent girlfriend’s names into a wall at the historic Colosseum in Rome. The incident was captured on video by another tourist, Ryan Lutz, and quickly went viral.
Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have expressed their determination to identify and punish the tourist responsible for the graffiti, which reads “Ivan+Haley 23.”
In the video, Lutz can be heard expressing his disbelief and disapproval of the tourist’s actions. The graffiti artist then turns to the camera with a smile while a woman, presumably his girlfriend, looks on.
The incident has further fueled complaints from locals about the overwhelming number of tourists visiting Rome this season.
Lutz, who recorded the video, said he was dumbfounded by the defacement of such an important monument. Despite reporting the incident to a guard, no action was taken.
After calming down, Lutz decided to share the video online to highlight the disrespectful behavior. He emphasized the importance of respecting the host country’s culture and history.
The incident has been condemned by Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as a serious act of incivility. He called for the culprits to be found and punished according to Italian law.
This incident marks the fourth time this year that graffiti has been reported at the Colosseum. Those responsible could face fines of up to 15,000 euros ($22,000) and up to five years in prison.
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche also expressed her hope that the tourist would be appropriately sanctioned to understand the gravity of his actions. She stressed the importance of respectful behavior when visiting foreign countries.
Notably, in previous incidents, a Russian tourist was fined 20,000 euros ($25,000) and given a suspended jail sentence for similar graffiti, while two American tourists were cited for aggravated damage.
– With files from The Associated Press
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