Tourist who carved name in Colosseum apologizes through letter to Italy

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - A Bulgarian tourist living in the UK, who carved the name of his girlfriend into the Colosseum, apologized to Italy and the world in a letter, media reports said Wednesday.

“I admit with deepest embarrassment that only after what regrettably happened, I learned of the antiquity of the monument,” Ivan Dimitrov wrote in the letter to the Rome prosecutor’s office and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, according to the Il Messaggero newspaper.

“(I’m) aware of the seriousness of the deed committed, with these lines, I wish to address my most heartfelt and honest apologies to the Italians and to the whole world for the damage caused to an asset which, in fact, is the heritage of all humanity,” he added.

Dimitrov, who was the focus of outrage after video went viral that showed him carving the name into the walls of the Colosseum, faces up to five years in prison and a $16,000 fine after he was identified.