Located in Italy's Pompeii Archaeological Park, the House of Ceii is an ancient Roman domus that was beautifully preserved when it was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The House of Ceii is well-known for its stunning frescoes of animals and hunters, among other scenes. Now, it's also the site of an etching in the wall of the letters "ALI," the name of a terrible tourist who carved it into one of the plaster walls.
"Unfortunately, even today, we find ourselves commenting on an uncivilized and idiotic disgrace caused to our artistic and cultural heritage," stated Italy's culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
Fortunately, park security alerted nearby security who arrested the man who was visiting from Kazakhstan.
"This is a very serious act that will have to be prosecuted severely," Sangiuliano said.
"Thanks to the new law that I strongly supported, the perpetrator will be forced to repay the costs of fully restoring the damage caused," Sangiuliano said.
Italy's parliament recently increased the maximum fine for vandalizing cultural heritage from €15,000 to €40,000. As Artnet reports, this measure was partially a response to recent climate protests where artworks and monuments are vandalized.
Previously:
• Tourist returns artifacts she swiped at Pompeii in hopes of lifting 'curse'
• An amazingly well-preserved four-wheeled processional chariot unearthed in Pompeii
• The food stalls of ancient Pompeii
• Sequencing the genome of a Pompeii resident and solving a 2,000 year old mystery
• At least ten unexploded bombs are hidden in the ruins of Pompeii
