OC Tourist Videos Man Defacing The Colosseum In Rome

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — An Orange County tourist was so appalled at the sight he found while walking around the famed Colosseum in Rome, he took out his phone to film it.

The footage shows a person appearing to carve names into the roughly 2,000-year-old bricks of the ancient amphitheater.

The video the June 23 act has made international news, according to the report. Italy's cultural minister, Gennaro Sanguiliano, has called for the person to be "identified and sanctioned."

"I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, the Colosseum, to engrave the name of his fiancée," Sangiuliano wrote on his Twitter page. "I hope that whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws."

According to CNN, the Italian news agency ANSA reported that the carving in the wall read "Ivan+Haley 23."

Lutz, reached by phone in Athens on Monday, told the OC Register he was shocked to see someone defacing the iconic ancient structure, so he began filming with his cell phone.

The video shows Lutz approaching the unidentified man from behind as he carves into the brick.

The man turns toward Lutz, who asks, "Are you serious, man?"

The culprit, however, smiles and goes back to his carving.

"No shame, whatsoever," Lutz told the newspaper about the man. "After that I think, `OK, I have to notify someone."'

Lutz told the paper he reported the vandalism to a guard, then to a supervisor, and he was ultimately assured that appropriate authorities would be contacted.

"It was kind of a bummer end for my trip to the Colosseum," Lutz told SCNG.

ANSA reported that the man could face a fine of $16,360 or up to five years in prison, according to CNN.

Lutz told SCNG he recently graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a geography degree, and is on a two-month tour of Europe.

City News Service contributed to this report.