A trend that combines extreme stupidity with courage and vandalism is gaining momentum in the Eternal City: not even a month has passed since the Italian authorities discovered and called to justice a Bulgarian-British vandal who painted on the walls of the Colosseum – an ancient monument the yard again suffered from tourists, whose motto could be the words “stupidity and courage”. This time, the number of tourists who want to “immortalize” themselves with “rock painting” so much that they are not even afraid of a huge fine and 5 years of imprisonment, they were replenished by a 17-year-old tourist from Switzerland.
Like the “previous” tourist, she first became the heroine of the video. An Italian tour guide filmed a 17-year-old girl engraving the letter “N” on the wall of the Colosseum. This time, the tourist and her parents were detained in the process and rushed to Piazza Venezia in Rome, where the police headquarters is located. The consequences for them are “unfortunate”: a fine of up to 15,000 euros for damage to cultural values and up to five years in prison. The sanctions are part of anti-vandalism measures taken by the Italian government in April. At the same time, the maximum fine is even higher – up to EUR 60,000.
“Attacks on monuments and art objects cause economic damage to everyone. To clean them, the intervention of highly qualified personnel and the use of very expensive machines is required,” said Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
It will be recalled that the past hero who scratched “Ivan and Haley 23” on the brickwork in the Colosseum – near the sign that urges not to write on the walls – managed to be caught thanks to his caring “colleagues”. The vandal became the hero of a video made by American traveler Ryan Lutz. The latter captured the moment when the tourist scratched the initials on the wall on his mobile phone camera. An indifferent American passing by posted the video on social media. In the video, you can hear how a passer-by was outraged by Ivan’s actions: Are you serious, man? This fucking man is dumb ******”. As a result, it turned out that he was a 27-year-old fitness instructor and part-time driver in one of the delivery services, Ivan Dimitrov, also known as Ivan Hawkins. The law enforcement officers found out that he is a citizen of Bulgaria, the traveler was born in Lovech and now lives in the British city of Bristol.
At the same time, the Italian police, considering everything, did not have time to detain the tourist. Instead, he managed to send a letter of apology, which infuriated the Italians even more. He sent a letter to Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, in which he specifically stated that he did not know the history of the Colosseum or its age. “What nonsense and what a surreal letter. What level of education does this person have to not know the significance of the Colosseum?” – asked the Italians.