A Dutch tourist has been arrested after allegedly vandalising an ancient Roman building, near Pompeii in Italy . The unnamed 27-year-old was detained on Monday after staff found graffiti on the wall of an ancient Roman building in black permanent marker. The tourist now faces charges of damage and defacement of artistic works, police said in a statement.
The incident occurred on Sunday (June 2) at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was also Italy's Festa della Repubblica national holiday - a day when state-run museums and archaeological sites open for free to the public, the Independent reported. Italian culture minister Gennaro Sanguiliano said: "Once again our cultural heritage is the victim of incivility and idiocy..
. Yesterday it was the turn of a Roman domus in the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, defaced by a tourist with a permanent marker." According to police, the graffiti was identified as the arrested man's tag.
Have you been on holiday to an area with a lot of graffiti? Email us at [email protected] "Any damage is a wound to our heritage, our beauty and our identity and that is why it must be sanctioned with the utmost firmness," added Gennaro. Italian authorities have recently toughened the penalties on people who damage the country's monuments and cultural sites.
Fines have increased from €15,000 (£12,770) to €40,000 (£34,000) for those found guilty. Located near the Mount Vesuvius crater, not far from Naples, the Archaeological Park of Herculan.
