'Are you serious?' Video shows tourist carve his name into Rome’s Colosseum

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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Officials in Italy have vowed to find and punish a person recently filmed carving his name and his significant other's name in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome.

“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," the country's culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, tweeted Monday.

“I hope that whoever carried out this act will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws,” he wrote.

Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche said she hoped the tourist would be sanctioned “so that he understands the gravity of the gesture."

"We cannot allow those who come to visit our nation to feel free to behave in this way," Santanche told Italian news agency Italy 24.

Officials in Italy have vowed to find and punish a person filmed carving his and his significant other's name in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome.
Officials in Italy have vowed to find and punish a person filmed carving his and his significant other's name in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome.
A general view shows people gather by the Colosseum monument in Rome during the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) prayer service in Rome on April 7, 2023 as part of celebrations of the Holy Week.
A general view shows people gather by the Colosseum monument in Rome during the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) prayer service in Rome on April 7, 2023 as part of celebrations of the Holy Week.

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What did the person carve?

Video captures the unidentified person using keys to carve the words “Ivan+Haley 23” into the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheater.

The brief footage posted on YouTube and Reddit shows a man with black hair wearing a blue T-shirt and black backpack standing next to a blonde woman wearing a white skirt and white backpack who appears to be holding a pet leash.

Officials in Italy have vowed to find and punish a person filmed carving his and his significant other's name in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome.
Officials in Italy have vowed to find and punish a person filmed carving his and his significant other's name in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome.

Tourist Ryan Litz, of Orange, California., told the Associated Press he filmed the video. Litz, who is on a two-month backpacking trip through Europe said he was astonished the man defaced "such an important monument."

"I kind of approach him and ask him, dumbfounded at this point, ‘Are you serious? Are you really serious?’" Litz told the outlet. “And all he could do is like smile at me.”

Litz said he posted the video after he told a guard but the officer did not do anything about it, "even after Litz identified the man and offered to share the video."

As of Tuesday afternoon, the video had received more than 100,000 views on several sites and had been picked up by Italian media.

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A hefty fine and possible prison time

The crime is not the first time the historic landmark has been vandalized.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the incident marked the fourth time this year graffiti was reported at the Colosseum.

Whoever is responsible for the latest episode faces $15,000 in fines and up to five years in prison. the outlet reported.

Contributing: Associated Press

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows man carve his name into Rome’s Colosseum