Italy is home to countless ancient Roman ruins and pieces of history, but they aren’t immune to destruction today. In the latest instance of a visitor vandalism, a remnant of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was defaced by a Dutch tourist just outside Naples.
Herculaneum, like its bigger sibling Pompeii, was covered in ash and lava nearly 2,000 years ago when the volcano erupted. According to local police, a 27-year-old visitor “signed” the walls of an ancient home in the town that survived the eruption using a black permanent marker on a white frescoed wall. Authorities quickly identified the suspect after he left his graffiti signature.
“Any damage hurts our heritage, our beauty and our identity and that is why it must be punished with the utmost firmness,” Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said in a statement, per Reuters. The unnamed tourist is facing charges of damage and defacement of artistic works for his actions.
Related: Tourists Wanted for Defacing Historic Italian Site With Soccer Slogans
It’s the latest instance in just the last year of tourist vandalism in Italy. Last June, a man from the U.K. was caught on camera carving his and his girlfriend’s names on the Colosseum in Rome using a key. And in August, graffiti artists defaced the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade in Milan.
If you’re planning on traveling to Italy this summer and leaving your mark on a piece of history, you better be ready to pay up. In January, the country introduced bigger penalties for those who damage monuments and cultural sites. Doing so will earn you a fine of up to €40,000 (approximately $43,500).
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