Image via Thinkstock
We will take idiotic tourists for $25,000, Alex.
The Guardian's Rosie Scammell (h/t CNN) reports a 42-year-old Russian tourist was arrested and fined by local officials when he attempted to carve his initials into Rome's iconic Colosseum.
The tourist got as far as carving the letter "K" into a wall, which garnered a whopping 20,000-euro fine. Now that's roughly $24,875. And it's also further proof that you never pay by the letter when trying to spruce up an outdoor décor.
Scammell writes, "The 42-year-old tourist used a stone to carve a 25cm "K" into a wall inside the ancient amphitheatre. He was caught in the act by a guard and arrested by police, before being fined and given a four-month suspended prison sentence."
La Stampa shows off one extremely expensive K with the following tweet:
Rossella Rea, who serves as the Colosseum's director described the landmark as "a magnificent and symbolic monument" when justifying the amount of the fine.
According to Scammell, Rea continued, "You cannot write on a historic wall, it's absolutely forbidden."
According to an ANSA report, the tourist picked up a rock and decided to carve out his place in history. Superintendent Mariarosaria Barbera offered that the letter was indeed noticeable: "The damage to the monument is notable. The incision cut out part of the surface of the structure and compromises its conservation and image."
Scammell is careful to note that there have been others who previously etched in their own creativity into the Colosseum's walls…many others.
The reporter writes, "Out of six million annual visitors, five have been stopped by police this year for scrawling on the amphitheatre. An Australian and his son were caught, as well as a teenager from Brazil and another from Canada. The minors escaped being fined because of their age."
Now deciding to graffiti isn't usually the smartest idea, and doing so on an International treasure is especially egregious. Though 20 large could be seen as a tad exorbitant. Archeologist Darius Arya spoke to that: "It's an extraordinarily high fee. This says 'we have no patience'; they're upping the ante as a new form of protection."
Like a parent tired of saying no, the world is being put into time out in the form of an extremely high fine that will come to anyone foolish enough to tarnish the aged walls of the Colosseum.
Officials have brought down the hammer, so put down the rock, pen or any other device and move along. Travel is expensive enough as it is.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
