A tourist was arrested in Rome, Italy, after using a metal point to damage one of the pillars at the Colosseum.
According to the reports, the tourist, who is from Ireland, used a piece of metal to carve his initials into the Colosseum pillar.
Once the man was caught damaging the millennia-old historical landmark by private security, the police were called onto the scene to arrest the unruly tourist.
After carving 2-inch initials into the landmark, the 32-year-old Irishman has reportedly been charged with damaging the historical landmark. If convicted, the tourist could be jailed for up to one year and ordered to pay a fine of at least $2,400.
“The Colosseum, like any monument that represents the history of all of us, must be preserved and handed over to future generations,” Federica Rinaldi, an archeologist responsible for the Roman amphitheater, told CNN.
As Rinaldi explained, tourists who choose to vandalize the landmark by carving their initials into it seek to “appropriate” the Colosseum.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time someone damaged the spectacular monument that in its prime days hosted gladiator fights in front of 50,000 spectators.
Previously, in 2014, a tourist from Russia was arrested and fined over $23,000 for carving an initial into the historic structure according to The Guardian.
A year later, two American tourists from California carved their initials into the amphitheater’s wall before taking selfies with the damage caused.
As Associated Press also revealed back in 2017, a tourist from Ecuador got reported to the police after he was caught carving the names of his wife and son into the wall of the monument.
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Replaced!