British tourist who carved name into Colosseum begs for forgiveness
The man’s actions could see him facing serious punishments in Italy
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The UK-based tourist who triggered widespread outrage for carving his girlfriend’s initials into the Colosseum has begged for forgiveness.
Ivan Dimitrov, who lives in Bristol, was caught by a fuming tourist engraving his and Hayley Bracey’s letters into the 2,000-year-old Rome structure.
Footage of the incident soon went viral before Italy’s Carabinieri tracked the pair down in Bulgaria this week.
The video, titled “A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23”, has received over 300,000 views.
Carabinieri said Dimitrov expressed “sincere remorse” for his actions, according to spokesman and Major Roberto Martina.
“He told us he was very upset by what he had done, and he kept apologising for it,” Mr Martina told Mail Online.
“I think he was worried about the consequences of any trial and we explained that he could be jailed for between two and five years and be fined up to 15,000 Euro.”
Mr Martina went on to say the case will be reasonably straightforward due to the video.
“He had contacted us after we secured his mobile telephone from hotel records and left a message for him to call us,” Mr Martina said.
“He was naturally worried about the legal implications, and these were all explained to him.
“We didn’t ask him why he did it, that will be for a judge to hear, we just told him that he was a suspect and was part of the investigation.
Mr Martina went on to say Ms Bracey “is not part of any complaint so is an innocent party as far as we are concerned”.
“Although technically, she could be seen as an accessory,” he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments