The Torre Annunziata prosecutor’s office has opened proceedings against a 37-year-old English tourist for damaging artistic heritage. He risks a fine of several tens of thousands of euros.
While the ancient city of Pompeii is a welcoming land for history lovers, it is also the scene of many incivilities on the part of tourists. On August 7, a 37-year-old man carved the initials of his family and the date of his visit on the wall of an old house in the ancient city.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the man was arrested in the act following a call from the staff responsible for monitoring the site. He admitted the facts and apologized. « I wanted to leave a trace of my passage »he said. He was visiting, with his wife and two children, the House of the Vestals (Editor’s note: house of the priestesses) of the famous archaeological site.
Photos of the damage show letters carved into the plaster next to the front door, which was painted red nearly 2,000 years ago. The letters “JW LMW MW” at the top of the wall and “MYLAW 07/08/24” further down are clearly visible.
Frequent acts of vandalism
Italy’s third most visited site has to deal with numerous acts of deliberate vandalism. In 2022, for example, Italian authorities reported an Australian tourist who had fun riding a scooter around Pompeii. In 2020, a visitor was arrested after he climbed onto a rooftop in the city to take a selfie.
According to CNN the 37-year-old tourist is being investigated by the local court of Torre Annunziata for “damaging artistic heritage”. The country this year introduced tougher penalties for those who damage monuments and cultural sites, imposing fines of up to 40,000 euros for those found guilty of damaging monuments.