The young man who scratched the Roman Colosseum: “I didn’t know it was ancient”

Tourist Ivan Dimitrov, 27, who lives in Bristol (United Kingdom) with his girlfriend Hayley Bracey, who wrote their names on one of the walls of the Colosseum in Rome, asked for an apology in a letter addressed to the Prosecutor’s Office in Rome, Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and the city council of the Italian capital. in the one who assures that he did not know the antiquity of the monument.

“I am ashamed to admit that I only learned about the antiquity of the monument after what unfortunately happened,” wrote a young man of Bulgarian origin in a letter published today by the Roman newspaper “Il Messaggero”.

The two were visiting the capital of Italy during a three-week trip to Europe and during a visit to the Colosseum, a man wrote the phrase “Ivan+Hayley 23” on the wall, which can be seen in a video posted on the platform by another tourist that went viral.

Italian Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiulianohe promised at the time that this act of vandalism would be prosecuted even after the carabinieri searched security camera images and hotel records and managed to identify the tourist while they were in Bulgaria.

Sangiuliano assured that in the event of a complaint, the Ministry of Culture will present itself as a civil party. It is not known whether there are any legal proceedings against the young man.

According to the newspaper, the young man immediately apologized for his gesture and told the carabinieri that he was very sorry, but also worried about the consequences of his act, since it was explained to him that he was threatened with a prison sentence of two to five years and a fine of 2,500 to 15,000 euros. .

“Aware of the gravity of the crime committed, With these lines, I want to send the most sincere and sincere apology to the Italians and the whole world for the damage done to the property which is, in fact, the heritage of all mankind,” he wrote in the letter.

Above all, he apologizes to the city council of Rome for “dedication, attention and sacrifice to preserve the priceless historical and artistic value of the Colosseum”, and then tries to justify himself by adding that he “just found out about the antiquity of the monument”. later.”

This is not the first time that visitors to the huge amphitheater decided to vandalize its walls.

Last summer, a Canadian tourist was surprised by security agents at the Coliseum while she was writing her name in stone on the same walls. On that occasion, the guards managed to quickly alert the police, who came to the scene and reported the visitor.