The tourist who caused outrage in Italy after carving names into a wall of the Colosseum has been identified as a British fitness trainer.
The man has been identified as Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness instructor and delivery driver who is originally from Bulgaria and lives in Bristol, according to The Telegraph.
He was filmed by an onlooker etching his and his girlfriend’s name into a wall of the 2,000-year-old monument last Friday. Wearing a blue floral print shirt, he used a key to write “Ivan + Hayley 23” in full view of the public. His girlfriend was identified as 33-year-old Hayley Bracey, according to The Telegraph.
He turned around and grinned as an angry bystander asked: “Are you serious, man?”
The video titled “A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome” was uploaded to YouTube on Friday by the man who filmed the scenes. It went viral across social media, garnering international headlines as people roundly condemned him.
Police have not officially named the suspect but officials said the man and his girlfriend were “a couple who are resident in England”.
They were identified “through traditional investigations and photographic comparisons the person accused of etching their name and that of his girlfriend on the walls of the Colosseum”.
Colosseum, also named the Flavian Amphitheater, is a Unesco world heritage site
(PA Archive)
The man could face a fine of up to €15,000 (£12,850) and a prison sentence of up to five years if convicted for defacing the historical monument under Italian laws.
Rome’s Colosseum is a Unesco world heritage site where gladiators fought with one another and also battelled wild animals including lions, leopards, bulls and ostriches. Its construction began under the reign of the emperor Vespasian in the first century AD.
Italian police will send a note to the suspect’s residence in England to inform him that he is under investigation, according to Il Messaggero. Ms Bracey, however, is not being investigated.
Visitors take photos of the Ancient Colosseum, in Rome
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The Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano thanked the police for identifying the alleged suspect of the “uncivilised and absurd act committed at the Colosseum”.
“It was an act that offended those around the world who appreciate the value of…
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