Post: #1

Then of course, they take a selfie.

Italian cops arrested the 21 and 25 year old California girls... who wants to bet how far the pussy pass goes to keep them out of any real trouble?

This is another reason I avoid traveling to places frequented by Americans... its this type of behavior that gives us all a bad name.

US tourists caught carving names into Rome’s Colosseum

Quote:Two California women break away from tour group to scratch their initials into ancient amphitheatre, where defacing walls is strictly forbidden

Signs in English and Italian at the site tell visitors not to deface the walls.

Sunday 8 March 2015 11.03 EDT

Tourists are once again getting into trouble in Italy, with two American women caught carving their names into Rome’s Colosseum.

The Californians, aged 21 and 25, snuck away from their tour group on Saturday and began scratching their initials into the amphitheatre with a coin. They managed a “J” and an “N” around 8cm high, before taking a selfie with their handiwork.

Police were quick to catch the two Americans and report them for damaging the ancient site. The women may now go in front of a judge and face a penalty.

Defacing the walls is strictly forbidden, as pointed out on signs in both English and Italian. But some visitors think little of breaking the rules as they view the crumbling monument differently from other top sites such as the Vatican, said a spokesman for the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome.

“There’s a difference in perception. Museums are treated like churches, sacred places where there are things of great value. Whereas the Colosseum is an incomplete building which has already been robbed,” the spokesman said.

The Colosseum fell into disrepair after its heyday of hosting 73,000 spectators, watching gladiator fights to the death, and was at one point quarried for its stone. While the amphitheatre was completed in AD80, the section defaced on Saturday dates to the 1800s when the pope initiated restoration work.

“It’s not an original wall but it’s nevertheless antique,” the spokesman said.

Antonio Camertoni, impersonating a Roman centurion outside the Colosseum, agreed the tourists were wrong to carve into the stone. “It’s a piece of cultural heritage. They don’t do it at home, but they do it here,” he said, musing that perhaps the site should be closed to tourists altogether.

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But the two unruly tourists are an incredibly small minority of around six million people who visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum each year. Johnny Hansen, on holiday from Denmark, said he certainly didn’t intend to leave his mark on the site. “Everyone should have respect for it. They should be fined to make an example. It’s heritage, so you must protect it,” he said.

The sheer number of visitors to the Colosseum, coupled with staffing cuts, makes it increasingly challenging to catch tourists behaving badly. Security was upped at the Colosseum and other sites last month, following threats against Rome by Islamic State, but the focus is on stopping terrorists not rule-breaking tourists.

Police vehicles parked by the amphitheatre and metal detectors at the entrance reflect the new security measures, while inside Colosseum staff continue trying to keep order among the visitors.

“The security is not inadequate from the point of view of terrorism, but the shortage of personnel and the great mass of tourists is a problem, also for other sites,” the Superintendency said.

The Californians’ lawbreaking comes little over three months after a Russian tourist was caught carving a 25cm letter into the Colosseum. The 42-year-old was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine, although owing to a lack of funds he has not paid the penalty.

The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.

Post: #2

Just wait and see what ISIS does to the place when they get there.

Post: #3

Post: #4

(03-08-2015 06:05 PM)RIslander Wrote:  Then of course, they take a selfie.

Italian cops arrested the 21 and 25 year old California girls... who wants to bet how far the pussy pass goes to keep them out of any real trouble?

This is another reason I avoid traveling to places frequented by Americans... its this type of behavior that gives us all a bad name.

US tourists caught carving names into Rome’s Colosseum

Quote:Two California women break away from tour group to scratch their initials into ancient amphitheatre, where defacing walls is strictly forbidden

Signs in English and Italian at the site tell visitors not to deface the walls.

Sunday 8 March 2015 11.03 EDT

Tourists are once again getting into trouble in Italy, with two American women caught carving their names into Rome’s Colosseum.

The Californians, aged 21 and 25, snuck away from their tour group on Saturday and began scratching their initials into the amphitheatre with a coin. They managed a “J” and an “N” around 8cm high, before taking a selfie with their handiwork.

Police were quick to catch the two Americans and report them for damaging the ancient site. The women may now go in front of a judge and face a penalty.

Defacing the walls is strictly forbidden, as pointed out on signs in both English and Italian. But some visitors think little of breaking the rules as they view the crumbling monument differently from other top sites such as the Vatican, said a spokesman for the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome.

“There’s a difference in perception. Museums are treated like churches, sacred places where there are things of great value. Whereas the Colosseum is an incomplete building which has already been robbed,” the spokesman said.

The Colosseum fell into disrepair after its heyday of hosting 73,000 spectators, watching gladiator fights to the death, and was at one point quarried for its stone. While the amphitheatre was completed in AD80, the section defaced on Saturday dates to the 1800s when the pope initiated restoration work.

“It’s not an original wall but it’s nevertheless antique,” the spokesman said.

Antonio Camertoni, impersonating a Roman centurion outside the Colosseum, agreed the tourists were wrong to carve into the stone. “It’s a piece of cultural heritage. They don’t do it at home, but they do it here,” he said, musing that perhaps the site should be closed to tourists altogether.

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But the two unruly tourists are an incredibly small minority of around six million people who visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum each year. Johnny Hansen, on holiday from Denmark, said he certainly didn’t intend to leave his mark on the site. “Everyone should have respect for it. They should be fined to make an example. It’s heritage, so you must protect it,” he said.

The sheer number of visitors to the Colosseum, coupled with staffing cuts, makes it increasingly challenging to catch tourists behaving badly. Security was upped at the Colosseum and other sites last month, following threats against Rome by Islamic State, but the focus is on stopping terrorists not rule-breaking tourists.

Police vehicles parked by the amphitheatre and metal detectors at the entrance reflect the new security measures, while inside Colosseum staff continue trying to keep order among the visitors.

“The security is not inadequate from the point of view of terrorism, but the shortage of personnel and the great mass of tourists is a problem, also for other sites,” the Superintendency said.

The Californians’ lawbreaking comes little over three months after a Russian tourist was caught carving a 25cm letter into the Colosseum. The 42-year-old was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine, although owing to a lack of funds he has not paid the penalty.

The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.

This is reminiscent of the doofus that took a selfie at Auschwitz. Fucking idiotic morons that make Americans look bad (or worse).

Post: #5

Post: #6

(03-08-2015 06:05 PM)RIslander Wrote:  The Californians’ lawbreaking comes little over three months after a Russian tourist was caught carving a 25cm letter into the Colosseum. The 42-year-old was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine, although owing to a lack of funds he has not paid the penalty.

The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.

Post: #7

Such irreverence for antiquity.

Post: #8

Like running a marathon, they probably wouldn't have done it if they couldn't talk, tweet, or Instagram about it after.

Post: #9

Quote:The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.

Not surprising at all. Either thoroughly degenerate societies, or fast on the way to joining the degenerate club.

Post: #10

(03-08-2015 06:53 PM)YossariansRight Wrote:  This is reminiscent of the doofus that took a selfie at Auschwitz. Fucking idiotic morons that make Americans look bad (or worse).

C'mon now, don't you know they hate us because we're free?

Post: #11

only real consequences for these girls would serve as a deterrent.

for a moment, i had a daydream that they would be forced into gladiatorial combat as punishment, but then i woke up...

Post: #12

They should be flogged in public.

Post: #13

(03-09-2015 11:57 AM)Pride male Wrote:  They should be flogged in public.

Post: #14

When in Rome do what the Romans do.

Post: #15

(03-08-2015 06:18 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  Just wait and see what ISIS does to the place when they get there.

Heartbreaking. These cocksuckers should be dragged over coals.

I'm reading about ancient Sumer, Hatti, Assyria, and Babylon right now. The richness of culture there is insane, yet somehow it's ironic that thousands of years ago, these cultures would wipe each other out and destroy libraries, records, and monuments, and now these savages are still doing the same shit.

Post: #16

This will determine if I'd rather just see them tried in court or have them do a "2 man enter, 1 man leave" in bikinis in the coliseum for poetic justice.

Post: #17

(03-08-2015 06:18 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  Just wait and see what ISIS does to the place when they get there.

This video is even more heartbreaking than any beheading films they've released. They're destroying artifacts from the cradle of civilisation, the civilisation that started it all. It's the culture that created the first writing, the first set if laws, the first epics. Without that first spark of genius in that once civilised land, this world would be a very different place. I hope this provides a good reason for western museums to not cave into the pressure to return artifacts to their place of origin.

Post: #18

That's fucked, what ISIS is doing. They make tomb raiders and grave robbers look like the good guys.

Post: #19

I'll make it a separate to not derail the chicks vs colosseum.