Tourist Vandalizes Wall of Roman Colosseum

There are a great many things that you shouldn’t do on holiday. Locals usually hate when tourists are loud and obnoxious or stop every second to take a picture, blocking troves of people on their daily commute. While those are only minor blips, it goes without saying that you should never etch your name into a UNESCO World Heritage site, unless of course you enjoy jail time and hefty fines.

Last week, a tourist was filmed defacing the Roman Colosseum by etching the words, “Ivan + Hayley ‘23” on a columned arch. A video originally posted to Reddit shows what appears to be Ivan and Hayley conducting the act, while a stranger yells out “asshole” to them. Ivan only smiled back.

He may not be smiling much longer, as the punishment for the offense can be upwards of €20,000 EUR / $21,923 USD and possibly a four-to-five year prison sentence. Italy’s minister of culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, tweeted: “I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, a historical heritage (site) such as the Colosseum, to carve the name of his fiancée.”

Back in 2020, a similar incident occurred as a 32-year-old Irish tourist was caught vandalizing the 2,000-year-old monument by etching his initials into a pillar. One month later, a German teenager was caught doing the same. In both offenses, a hefty fine was served and sparked an outcry from the cultural community, including Colosseum director, Alfonsina Russo, who deemed that anyone who committed such an act had a “lack of education.”