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A tourist has apologised for scratching a wall of the Colosseum in Rome.
At the end of June, the man from England had used a key to scratch the names of himself and his girlfriend into the masonry of the world-famous building.
After the vandalism became public thanks to mobile phone videos on the internet, the Carabinieri police force identified the 31-year-old man, who is facing a heavy fine.
In a letter widely published in the British media the accused wrote: “I admit with profound embarrassment that only after what regretfully happened did I learn of the antiquity of the monument.”

The letter was sent to Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, the city and the public prosecutor’s office.
The tourist’s lawyer told the Roman newspaper Il Messaggero that his client was “the prototype of the foreigner who casually believes that everything is allowed in Italy, even actions that would be severely punished in his home country”.
The lawyer hopes for a lenient sentence thanks to the apology letter.
The man’s act of vandalism, which went viral on social media, caused great outrage in Italy. The Colosseum’s park administration filed a complaint. The man was then identified by the Carabinieri on the basis of various video recordings.
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In his letter he addressed his “heartfelt and honest apologies to the Italians and to the whole world for the damage caused to an asset which, in fact, is the heritage of all humanity”.
Il Messaggero commented on the letter with the barbed rhetorical question: “Is there really anyone in the world who does not know what the Colosseum is?”
The Roman landmark, which is around 2,000 years old, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy – attracting millions of visitors every year – and is considered the symbol of the Eternal City.
It was built in the 1st century AD and is considered the largest amphitheatre in the world. In ancient Rome, sometimes cruel and brutal gladiator fights took place in it.


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World

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The man, whose act of vandalism at the world-famous site was captured on video and went viral, has apologised for damaging the ancient building
Police identified the culprit after looking for various recordings, and he is now facing a heavy fine


The UK man, whose act of vandalism at the world-famous site was captured on video and went viral, has apologised for damaging the ancient building as he faces a heavy fine.


Crime

Tourism

Britain