World

Man filmed carving name on Colosseum is tourist living in Britain, police say

Visitors walk past the Colosseum in Rome where a visitor was spotted carving their name (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Visitors walk past the Colosseum in Rome where a visitor was spotted carving their name (Andrew Medichini/AP) Visitors walk past the Colosseum in Rome where a visitor was spotted carving their name (Andrew Medichini/AP)
By AP Reporter

Italian police have said they believe the man filmed while engraving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend last week on the ancient Roman Colosseum is a tourist who lives in Britain.

The identification was made using photographic comparisons, said the Italian Carabinieri.

The statement did not provide the name of the suspect nor his whereabouts.

Italy Colosseum Vandals
Italy Colosseum Vandals Visitors walk past the Colosseum in Rome where a visitor was spotted carving their name (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Italian officials have vowed to find and punish the tourist who carved “Ivan+Haley 23” on the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that has resulted in hefty fines in the past.

The vandal was filmed in the act by an American tourist, Ryan Lutz of Orange, California, who posted the video on social media after he said Colosseum guards failed to show interest in his footage.

It was at least the fourth time this year that such graffiti was reported at the Colosseum, an act that carries fines of up to 15,000 US dollars and five years in prison.