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A Dutch tourist has been arrested on suspicion of tagging an ancient building near the historical village of The 27-year-old, who has not been named, was arrested after staff discovered black permanent marker graffiti of a signature on a fresco in the ancient village of Herculaneum on Monday (June 3). The young allegedly did not think to change the graffiti from his own signature in any way. He has been charged with vandalism, and the defacement of artistic works, according to a statement from police.

Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano has been left fuming, the reports. said: “Any damage hurts our heritage, our beauty and our identity and that is why it must be punished with the utmost firmness.” The building that was tagged was a Roman villa in Herculaneum - a village near to Pompeii which was buried alongside its more famous counterpart when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.



While Herculaneum is smaller than Pompeii, it was buried under a deeper layer of ash which led its buildings to be more well protected from thieves and also better preserved. The tag was put across an ancient fresco inside one of the homes in the village, and was written in permanent marker. This latest defacement is far from the first time that tourists have been snapped allegedly trying to leave their mark on ancient monuments.

A British tourist caused fury last year when he was caught scratching his and his girlfriends names into the Roman Colosseum. Bristol-based Ivan Dimitrov was caugh.

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