“Idiotic” Tourist Etches Name Into Ancient Pompeii Villa
“This is a very serious act that will have to be prosecuted severely.”
It’s summer time, so you know another tourist is burning to etch their names into a millennia-old Italian structure. Last year saw the Roman Colosseum lovingly inscribed with the words “Ivan + Hayley ‘23” and authorities just reported a Kazakhstani man added his own creative touch to an ancient Pompeii villa.
According to Kazinform, the anonymous tourist was quickly detained by local Italian authorities after inscribing the name “ALI” on a wall of the House of Ceii and will be required to pay the damages inflicted. “Unfortunately, even today, we find ourselves commenting on an uncivilized and idiotic disgrace caused to our artistic and cultural heritage,” said Italy’s minister of culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, in a statement. “This is a very serious act that will have to be prosecuted severely and, also thanks to the new law that I strongly supported, the perpetrator will be forced to repay the costs of fully restoring the damage caused.”
Excavated between 1913-14, Pompeii’s House of Ceii features preserved frescoes of wildlife dating back to the late-Samnite period (2nd century BC), as well as magistrate Lucius Ceius Secundus’ — who is believed to be the owner of the villa — interest in Egyptian landscapes.
Sangiuliano has been busy keeping vandals at bay, having recently proposed hefty fines for future offenses that can go up to $43,000 USD. As it stands, the Kazakhstani tourist “will not be subject to criminal prosecution,” according to Kazinform, as both the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii process the case.
