A man from Ireland has reportedly been arrested for defacing the Colosseum in Rome with his own initials.
Reports claimed that the initials were 6cm high and were scratched into a pillar on the first level of the Flavian Amphitheatre with a sharp object.
Police were called to the scene and the man was charged with ‘damaging assets of historical and cultural importance’, La Repubblica reports.
The 32-year-old could potentially face up to one year in prison or a £1,872 fine.
“The Colosseum, like any monument that represents the history of all of us, must be preserved and handed over to future generations,” the Parco Colosseo’s Federica Rinaldi, told CNN, adding: “Carving one’s initials, in addition to being a crime, seems to be a gesture of those who want to appropriate the monument. Better take a selfie!”
However, this isn’t the first time the Colosseum’s walls have been under threat from tourist’s etchings.
In 2014, a 42-year-old Russian man received police attention after carving the letter K into the walls of the landmark. The Independent reported that they were given a €20,000 (£16,000) fine and a four year suspended sentence.
In March 2015, some American women were also seen scratching the wall with a coin, inciting a word from the police.
As the Coronavirus pandemic worsened, the Colosseum was forced to close for 3 months until it’s reopening in June. This is the first incident of defacing since the reopening.
The structure, which is nearly 2,000 years old, was built between 72 and 80 AD in Ancient Rome. It is the biggest amphitheatre in the world, measuring at 189m long, 156m wide and 50m high.
A whopping estimated 6.4 million people visited the Colosseum in 2016. This makes the structure one of the most visited attractions in the world.
These are some of the buildings that accompany the Colosseum on the list of legendary architecture.
