Colosseum tourist in Rome carves fiancée’s name into wall

The man was filmed carving his partner's name into the side of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Photo / Twitter, @g_sangiuliano

There’s no doubt Italy is a romantic place but one lover appeared to go a little overboard when proving his affections to his partner after carving her name into the Colosseum.

A tourist has been filmed carving his fiancée’s name into a building that is almost 2000 years old, in Rome.

Italy’s culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano did not take the action lightly and expressed hopes that the man is found and punished.

“I hope that whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws,” Sangiuliano wrote on Twitter yesterday, alongside a video and photo of the man, whose face has been blurred out.

Sangiuliano said the act was not only a serious offence, but an indication of the man’s profound rudeness and lack of respect.

“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, the Colosseum, to engrave the name of his fiancée,” he wrote.

Reputo gravissimo, indegno e segno di grande inciviltà, che un turista sfregi uno dei luoghi più celebri al mondo, il Colosseo, per incidere il nome della sua fidanzata. Spero che chi ha compiuto questo gesto venga individuato e sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY

— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) June 26, 2023

In the video, the young man appears to be using a set of keys to scratch into the Colosseum’s stone walls.

The man reportedly wrote “Ivan+Haley 23″ according to ANSA, an Italian news company.

If the man was “identified and sanctioned” as per Sangiuliano’s wishes, he could face five years in prison or a fine up to €15,000 ($26,500)

The tweet gained plenty of attention with almost 160,000 views and over 80 comments in English and Italian.

Almost all people who left a comment appeared to agree with the minister that the man should face consequences.

“Fine him $25,000 or 5 years in jail, for defacing a national historical treasure, will take that smile off his face,” wrote one person.

Many assumed the man was American and suggested this was the reason they did not respect the monument.

“In their home they have nothing of authentic history, this being comes from a country where everything is fake,” one person wrote in Italian.

“Americans always think they have ownership over everything they set foot on,” another added.

One person asked why the person filming did not intervene.

“But I wonder: instead of filming with his cell phone, couldn’t the author of the video have given him a good slap in the face?!?,” they wrote in Italian.

This is not the first time a tourist has been caught making their mark on the iconic attraction.

In 2019 a 14-year-old German student carved his initials into the walls, and in 2014, a Russian tourist had to pay up to $32,200 for carving the letter “K” on the building.