Man carves love note into Colosseum in latest case of tourist misbehavior
Washington PostJun 14, 2023
The Facts
The Italian Carabinieri paramilitary police said it has identified the man filmed last week engraving his and his partner's names into a wall of Rome's 2K-year-old Colosseum as a tourist from the UK but declined to name the suspect.
The police stated the couple, who reportedly lives in Bristol, were located in Bulgaria on Friday. The UK-based fitness instructor carved "Ivan + Hayley 23" – allegedly his and his partner's names – into the ancient brickwork.
The Spin
Narrative A
The perpetrator should be apprehended and sanctioned to the full extent of the law for his dumbfounding act. However, the authorities must also be held accountable for failing to protect and preserve the Colosseum and allowing the tourists to use the ancient landmark as a billboard to declare their love.
Narrative B
While deplorable, this is nothing new: The suspect is one of many who have visited historical tourist destinations around the world and committed vandalism — an innate, albeit inconsiderate, human behavior. There may be little that can be done to prevent these incidents. It will take a return to civility and decency to reduce the mistreatment of these sites.
