Tourist Defaces Colosseum, Apologizes, Says He Didn't Know It Was So Old
Ivan Danailov Dimitrov, 31, pleads ignorance in an apology letter to Rome
Every year a whopping 6 million people make the journey to the Colosseum in Rome to take in what is considered to be one of the most impressive monuments in the entire world. Construction on the massive, ancient stadium, began in 72 AD, making it over 2,000 years old. Last month, a tourist defaced the historic monument, when he used his keys to etch a love note to his girlfriend. This week, he wrote an apology letter, claiming that he didn't know how old the place really was.
Ivan Danailov Dimitrov, 31, wrote a letter that was published on Wednesday in the Rome, Italy newspaper Il Messaggero. In it, he expressed his remorse for defacing a wall in the massive space.
"I admit with deepest embarrassment that it was only after what regrettably happened that I learned of the monument's antiquity," Dimitrov writes in the letter, dated July 4 and addressed to the Rome prosecutor's office, the mayor of Rome and "the municipality of Rome."
He also acknowledged the "seriousness of the deed I committed" and offered his "heartfelt and sincere apologies to Italians and the entire world for the damage done to a monument, which is, in fact, heritage of all humanity." He also offered to "sincerely and concretely" right his wrong and redeem himself. He added: "I hope this apology will be accepted."
Last month Dimitrov was filmed etching "Ivan + Hayley 23/6/23" into a brick on a wall of the Colosseum. At the time, his identity was unknown, but the video went viral and Italian military police investigated the crime and located the couple, who had stayed at an Airbnb. They tracked Dimitrov to England, where he lives.
"It should be said that when foreign tourists come to Italy, from anywhere, not any particular nationality, there's this idea that they've come to a country where everything is allowed, where they turn a blind eye, where it's, 'That's how it goes,'" said Alexandro Maria Tirelli, Dimitrov's lawyer, who is hoping to plea bargain his client out of a potential jail sentence. He says that his apology is an attempt to make clear "that he had pulled what he thought was a harmless stunt."
