A 17-year-old German tourist was caught on Saturday allegedly defacing the Colosseum in Rome, the third act of vandalism against the world heritage site in recent weeks.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, a teacher was accompanying the student at the time of the incident.
The boy was stopped by Italy’s domestic police, the Carabinieri, who were called in by the Colosseum’s supervisory staff.
The teenager had been “administratively sanctioned,” ANSA said, without clarifying the nature of the sanction.
The Italian news agency reported that the scratch, made in the ground floor wall of the monument, damaged part of the brickwork.
Several cases of vandalism in the Colosseum
This is the third time in about a month that the Colosseum has been defaced by tourists.
On Friday, a young Swiss woman was filmed carving her first initial on the wall of the monument. She has since been identified by the police and faces a prison sentence of several days and a fine of up to 15,000 euros.
Late last month, a British tourist from Bristol caused outrage after he was caught carving his and his girlfriend’s names on old walls. He apologized in a letter and claimed he did not know how old the 1st century AD monument was.
The almost 2000 year old amphitheater is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy. Millions of tourists visit it annually.
Italian authorities are investigating viral Colosseum vandals
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rmt/lo (dpa, EFE)