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Franco Origlia / Getty Images
Every year a handful of tourists try to deface the Colosseum in Rome. (file photo)
An Irish tourist, who was on vacation in Rome, Italy, has been accused of engraving his initials in the Colosseum.
CNN reports that a 32-year-old man was captured on Monday (Italian time), when Colosseum security found his two initials etched six centimeters high on a pillar of the ancient monument.
If found guilty, he would not be the first tourist convicted of defacing the 2,000-year-old structure.
In 2014, a Russian tourist was caught carving his initials on a wall in the Colosseum and was fined 20,000 euros (NZ $ 31,438).
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The 42-year-old was using a sharp-edged stone to carve a large K, 25 centimeters high. In addition to the fine, an Italian judge imposed a suspended jail term of four months.
In a typical year, a handful of tourists find themselves trying to deface what is considered one of the seven wonders of the world.
Their offenses can lead to jail time or a fine of not less than 2,000 euros (3,550 New Zealand dollars).
The Colosseum, the largest amphitheater built during the Roman Empire at 48.5 meters high, received more than six million visitors a year in the pre-Covid era.
