It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see if it pays off for him.

For real tho who the fuck doesn’t know what the colosseum is?

That apology is so full of shit I can smell it from here. I hope the prosecutor sees right through it.

Who cares how old it is (for the sake of this argument). Is it yours?! If not, don't damage it!

The guy carved his real name into the facade, filmed himself doing it, and posted it to social media.

This is what lawyers refer to as “res ipsa loquitur” or loosely translated to “the thing speaks for itself”. Let the video play in court and case closed.

Got to love how these idiots just make it so easy. Hope the courts throw the book at him with maximum penalties.

If he thought the building was unimportant enough that writing his dumbass name on it was nbd, what the fuck was doing wasting his time there in the first place? Why did he think all the other tourists were there?

I—what?

Someone create a NotTheOnion community!

CNN’s affiliate SkyTG24 and Italian state media RAI reported Wednesday that the tourist faces a fine of up to 5,000 euros ($5,400) and 15 days in jail.

That's not nearly enough for defacing such a historically significant building.

Time to reopen the Colosseum for its original purpose and throw that dickhead in with the lions.

This is the kind of shit that caused them to close the Chichen Itza from tourists.

Hope he gets made an example of, absolutely moronic. I don’t buy this excuse but even if it’s true it doesn’t absolve him of anything.

They are either profoundly ignorant or a damned liar. In either case, it doesn't make them look good.

Weirdly enough CNN says he risks a 5,000 euros fine and 15 days in jail but the BBC claims he risks 15,000 euros and up to 5 years in prison

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66121000

If he didn't know or if he did know and is now faking it, who the fuck cares? Charge his ass regardless. Not knowing is not a defense.

All they should need to do is prove that he went through third grade or whatever his local equivalent is to disprove that. Not to mention the fact that he paid for the tour and managed to get that far.

I don't know that this is something someone should go to prison for, because it's not protecting anybody to put him in prison, but he should definitely pay for a very long time.

has sent a letter of apology to the local prosecutor’s office

Oh cool, a written confession - thanks for making it so easy for us - the cops

~~Name sounds Russian. If so, it figures. A society that, as a whole, appears to have quite he distain for other nation's monuments and culture. ~~ Also, for someone so apparently ignorant to some of modern humanity's greatest and most famous windows to our 'ancient' past, they write very well. Assuming it wasn't their solicitor who wrote it for them to sign, of course.

And that would totally defeat the point of sending the letter.

Edit: I am very wrong about the nationality of the 'alleged' vandal.

A better apology would be cleaning the whole structure with a toothbrush.