By Tim Binnall
Authorities in Rome are searching for a tourist who was spotted carving his name into a wall of the city's famed Colosseum. The brazen act of vandalism reportedly occurred last Friday and was captured on film by Ryan Lutz, who was visiting the popular location while on vacation from California. In the video, the bewildered witness approaches the miscreant as he scratches the wall with a key. When the vandal is asked what he is doing, the ne'er-do-well simply responds with a mischievous smile and Lutz walks away in disgust. It was later determined that the troublesome tourist had actually carved "Ivan + Haley 23" into the wall, which one presumes was some kind of misguided declaration of love for the woman seen standing beside him in the footage.
Upon being posted online, Lutz's video spread like wildfire and quickly caught the attention of Italian authorities. The country's Culture Minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, subsequently took to social media to decry Ivan's actions, calling them "a sign of great incivility," while expressing hope that "whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws." The official's outrage was echoed by Italy's Tourism Minister, Daniela Santanche, who mused that "we cannot allow those who visit our nation to feel free to behave in this way" and also called for the tourist to be punished "so that he understands the gravity of the gesture."
To that end, should authorities manage to track Ivan down, the young man will undoubtedly regret his proverbial love note as he could be fined around $15,000 and may even be sentenced to up to five years in prison. Should he wind up behind bars, one can only wonder whether or not Haley will be waiting for him when he is finally released. Meanwhile, Ivan's vandalism at the Colosseum is the latest in an increasingly strange series of incidents involving tourists behaving badly at Italian cultural landmarks. In the last year alone, an American man smashed sculptures at the Vatican after being denied a meeting with Pope Francis, a Saudi Arabian visitor drove a car down the famed Spanish Steps, and an Australian tourist rode a moped into a restricted area of Pompeii.