The Colosseum is one of the most beautiful examples of ancient architecture in Europe, and vandalism is heavily punished. A Russian tourist was caught carving his initials onto the walls of the Colosseum and was fined a hefty $25,000 and slapped with a suspended four year jail sentence for his calculated actions. The tourist carved a 10 inch K onto the walls of the Colosseum in Rome and authorities didn’t take too well to his art.
The 42 year old Russian tourist was spotted by a security guard whilst carving his initial on the stone wall of the Colosseum and was arrested on the spot. Roman authorities don’t take very kindly to vandals, especially when it comes to such a valuable monument of the city. I’m sure most of you can understand why the Russian tourist was slapped with such a big fine, since the Colosseum is a unique remainder of ancient society and it’s disrespectful to vandalize it with some random initials, just to leave an otherwise insignificant mark on history. The Colosseum was inaugurated in 80 AD and can hold over 50,000 people, so I don’t understand why one would think that they are worthy of such a historical landmark and proof of ancient civilization. People tend to carve their initials into trees and benches, which I also disagree with, but the Colosseum has risen to almost a sacred statute in modern society and destroying its walls with stupid initials is plain irresponsible and disrespectful.
Rome has had its fair share of Colosseum vandals the past year and the recent attempt has just angered officials even more. Consequently, authorities have decided to hire personnel to monitor the Colosseum and its surroundings more closely, so that they can apprehend anybody trying to carve their initials or spray paint vulgar messages on the historic walls. Roman authorities are becoming increasingly irritated by vandals targeting the Colosseum and say that people should respect historical monuments that depict ancient life, and they are right in their frustration. Authorities say that they will keep an eye out for future attempts to vandalize the Colosseum and have set the example of the Russian tourist as a reminder of how severe the punishments for unnecessary vandalism are.