An English tourist has been charged with damaging artistic heritage after allegedly etching his initials and those of family members into a wall at Pompeii’s House of the Vestals, Italian media reported last week. The 37-year-old man scratched the letters “MYLAW” and the date August 7 into the structure, as shown in an image of the damage obtained by Hyperallergic from Pompeii Archaeological Park.
A park security guard caught the unnamed tourist and reported him to the Carabinieri, the Italian national police. According to the news site Stabia Channel, the man apologized and explained that he wanted to record his visit to the site with his two daughters. He chose a frescoed section of the nearly 2,000-year-old House of the Vestals for his family initials.
The man is now accused of defacing a heritage site under a new law passed in January meant to crack down on the serial vandalization of the country’s cultural monuments, a charge that can carry a fine of €10,000 to €60,000 (~$11,000 to $66,000).
Pompeii Archaeological Park referred Hyperallergic to the Carabinieri for more information on the incident; police did not immediately respond to inquiries.
The new heritage protection law penalties come after a string of related incidents. In June, Carabinieri detained a tourist from Kazakhstan who engaged in a similar action at Pompeii’s House of Ceii. Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano also cited the rise of climate protests targeting Italian cultural monuments in recent years, such as actions at the La Scala Opera House in Milan and Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. Environmental activists, however, say the focus on protecting heritage is distracting from the urgent climate crisis.
Hyperallergic has contacted the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism for further comment.
