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Each year millions of tourists are drawn to visit the amazing array of man-made and natural wonders the world has to offer.
However, while most visitors treat these sites with respect, there are always some who do not.
Yesterday one British tourist caused uproar when it emerged he had carved his and his two daughters’ initials onto the wall of one of the most famous and protected ancient sites in Pompeii.
He has now been ordered to pay for any restoration work required by the Italian authorities.
Here MailOnline has put together a list of the most shocking cases when tourists have decided to trample over history and deface heritage sites across the world.
Pompeii, Italy
A 37-year-old British tourist carved his and his two daughters’ initials – with a blunt object onto the wall of the House of the Vestal Virgins, which is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Pompeii, it emerged yesterday.
The man made five engravings in total – JW, LMW and MW, alongside MLAW and the date 07/08/24.
According to Italian news outlet Secolo d’Italia, staff had noticed the man standing close to the frescoed section at the entrance to the House of the Vestrals and discovered the engravings after he left.
Outraged by the graffiti, they identified the man and reported him to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Torre Annunziata, Corriere Della Sera reports.
The actual graffiti etched on the wall of the House of the Vestal Virgins in Pompeii by the tourist, which includes his and his daughters’ initials letters, JW, LMW and MW, alongside MLAW and the date 07/08/24
Pompeii sits beneath Mt Vesuvius and was famously buried and preserved for posterity by a massive eruption in 79AD
When asked to explain himself, the man is said to have apologised and that he had wanted to leave a record of the family having visited the historic site.
The man has now been cited for damaging cultural heritage, according to Italian news outlet ANSA and it is likely he will have to pay for any restoration.
Another tourist was caught carving his name on an ancient wall in Pompeii in June.
The man, who is from Kazakhstan, was reportedly caught red-handed damaging one of the walls in the town, which sits beneath Mt Vesuvius and was buried by the volcano’s 79AD eruption.
The unnamed vandal was stopped while he was engraving ‘Ali’ on light plaster in the House of the Ceii, an ancient villa that probably belonged to the magistrate Lucius Ceius Secundus.
The Italian authorities have said that the man will be made to pay for restoration work to be carried out on the wall to remove the graffiti after he was reported to the police.
In June, an unnamed vandal was stopped while he was engraving ‘Ali’ on light plaster in the House of the Ceii (pictured)
Visitors at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, near Naples, southern Italy (file photo)
Melbourne, Australia
A 72-year-old King George V statue was beheaded and vandalised in Melbourne, Australia on June 10 this year.
Footage circulating on social media showed vandals cutting the head from the statue before spraying the words ‘The colony will fall’ onto the sculpture with red paint.
The video of the act of vandalism has since been removed and a Victoria Police spokeswoman said the incident was being investigated.
Victoria, and most other states in Australia, held a public holiday on June 10 to observe King Charles’ official birthday.
A King George statue has been beheaded and vandalised in Melbourne on the King’s Birthday public holiday
Video footage circulating on social media showed the vandals cutting the head from the statue before spray painting the words ‘the colony will fall’
Rome, Italy
A clip of a UK based fitness instructor defacing the 2,000-year-old Colosseum in Rome by scrawling ‘Ivan + Hayley’ into its wall using a set of keys went viral last year.
Ivan Dimitrov, 27, who also goes by the name Ivan Hawkins, was exclusively identified by MailOnline, along with his girlfriend Hayley Bracey, 33, after an outraged tourist filmed him carving their names into the ancient brickwork and posted it online.
The couple who live in Bristol – were in the Italian capital Rome as part of a three week European tour – and were located in Bulgaria at the end of June 2023 by police after they were identified through CCTV footage and hotel records.
Furious Californian tourist Ryan Lutz, who filmed Dimitrov, posted the video online and can be heard telling Dimitrov: ‘Are you serious man ? That is f*****up man. Stupid a******.’
As he challenges him Dimitrov simply turns and grins before carrying on scratching into brickwork his name and that of sports nutrionist girlfriend Hayley.
Ivan Dimitrov, 27, was on holiday in Rome with girlfriend Hayley Bracey, 33, when he was caught carving the words ‘Ivan and Hayley 23’ into the brickwork with a set of keys
In the video, Ryan approached the man believed to be Ivan: ‘Are you serious man? That is f***ed up man. Stupid a******e’
Ivan Dimitrov (left) was in Rome with his long-term girlfriend Hayley Bracey (right) when he carved ‘Ivan & Hayley 23’ into the 2,000 year old Colosseum in the Italian capital
A statement released by the Carabinieri at the time read: ‘Following investigations, subsequent to the complaint presented by the Colosseum Park Authority, the Carabinieri of the Command of Rome Piazza Venezia, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor of Rome, have identified, through traditional investigations and photographic comparison, the person seriously suspected of be responsible for engraving his own name and that of his partner, at the Colosseum, filming the scene, then published on social media.
‘The Carabinieri have ascertained that it is a couple, man and woman, residing in England.
‘It should be noted that the proceeding is in the preliminary investigation phase, therefore the suspect must consider himself innocent until a final sentence is issued.’
Wyoming, US
A vandal sparked fury after he carved the name ‘Nick into a rockface at Yellowstone national park in Wyoming, US, in May this year.
A photo shared in the Facebook group ‘Yellowstone National Park: Invasion of The Idiots’ showed the scribble on a thermal crust off the Biscuit Basin boardwalk.
The scratching said, ‘Nick and [illegible] were here.’ Members of the Facebook group then launched an effort to try and identify Nick and his partner in crime.
‘Dirty, rotten a******s! Get photographic evidence catching them in the act! They deserve to be reported and publicly shamed! This is getting ridiculous,’ said one group member.
‘Please take a picture of the people doing this and follow them to there vehicle and take a picture of there license plate and turn it in,’ said another.
Yellowstone National Park enthusiasts are outraged after a tourist carved ‘Nick and (illegible) were here’ into the thermal crust off the Biscuit Basin boardwalk
The Biscuit Basin trial is a 0.6-mile loop that wraps around hydrothermal features, such as Sapphire Pool, Avoca Spring and Jewel Geyser which erupts every 7 to 10 minutes
‘There are only so many Rangers so they need our help with this. Lets not let these people destroy our beautiful parks. Lets get em people.’
The Biscuit Basin trial is a 0.6-mile loop that wraps around hydrothermal features, such as Sapphire Pool, Avoca Spring and Jewel Geyser which erupts every seven to 10 minutes.
Herculaneum, Italy
In June, a Dutch tourist was arrested on suspicion the Domus excavations that survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius near Naples.
The unnamed 27-year old man was held after staff discovered graffiti on a frescoed wall in an ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum on Monday.
Italian police said in a statement that the graffiti, which had been made with a black permanent marker, matches the man’s signature.
‘Any damage hurts our heritage, our beauty and our identity and that is why it must be punished with the utmost firmness,’ said Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
A sign made with a black marker on the wall of a domus of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park, in Ercolano, Naples, Italy
According to The Independent, the unnamed tourist faces charges of damage and defacement of artistic works.
Herculaneum is a smaller city than its more famous neighbour Pompeii and was buried under a deeper layer of ash following the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
This protected its ruins from thieves and left particularly well-preserved remains.
Florence, Italy
Two tourists from Germany were detained for covering a historical landmark in Florence with football graffiti in August last year.
The men were reported to have used black spray paint to write ‘DKS 1860’ on the 460-year-old columns of Florence’s iconic Vasari Corridor.
The corridor connects the city’s treasured Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace and was originally built for the powerful Medici family.
The disrespectful act is understood to be a reference to Germany‘s Division Three side 1860 Munich.
Italian police tracked down the vandals after CCTV footage showed them scaling a wall by the Renaissance walkway on August 22, 2023.
The pair were arrested by police at a holiday apartment, where they were staying with nine other tourists from Germany.
Cans of black spray paint and clothes believed to have been worn by the men on the night were seized by officers.
German tourists were arrested after being caught spraying ‘DKS 1860’ on the 460-year-old columns of Florence’s iconic Vasari Corridor in August last year
The vandals were caught on CCTV scaling a wall by the Renaissance walkway on August 22, 2023, before spraying graffiti on the landmark
Locals have been left stunned by the disrespectful behaviour of the tourists who defaced the corridor that connects the city’s treasured Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace
Dorset, UK
Two yobs were caught on camera in August 2013 painting their names onto ancient cliffs along a stretch of protected coastline.
The vandals – who then posed for pictures next to the graffiti- used a red spray can to deface the limestone cliffs at Old Harry Rocks, an iconic feature of Dorset’s Jurassic Coastline.
Onlookers watched in horror as men drove their small red and white motorboat over to a tiny beach before vandalising the 65million-year-old rocks near Studland.
Using the red paint they daubed the names Martin and Wayne in huge letters on the rocks then took their turn posing for photographs.
Vandals: The two men were caught on camera painting their names onto ancient cliffs along a stretch of protected coastline – then posed for pictures next to the graffiti
The cliffs are on on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a geological wonder of the UK
The Jurassic Coast was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and has been voted among the UK’s top wonders.
Its chalk cliffs date back 185 million years covering the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Old Harry Rocks consist of two chalk formations, a large stack and a smaller stump, at Handfast Point, that were formed by erosion from the sea.
Luxor, Egypt
A Chinese schoolboy, 15, was caught defacing an ancient Egyptian temple in May 2013.
The graffiti at the Luxor Temple read: ‘Ding Jinhao was here’ on 3,500-year-old hieroglyphics on the wall of the temple.
A picture of the graffiti written in Chinese was posted online along with comments expressing people’s disgust at the boy’s actions.
The tourist, surnamed Shen, said: ‘It was the saddest moment during my stay in Egypt, and I felt ashamed.
‘We try to wipe out the shame with tissue, but it was difficult to clear it out, and we could not use water as the relief is a historical relic 3,500 years old.
Ding Jinhao, from Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu Province, wrote: ‘Ding Jinhao was here’ over hieroglyphics on the wall of an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor
The embarrassed parents of the schoolboy apologised to both the Chinese people and the Egyptian authorities for their son’s actions
Chinese tourists who spotted the graffiti posted a picture of it online alongside comments expressing their disgust at the boy’s action
‘All of the 14 members of our tour group kept silent after seeing the sentence as we felt ashamed.’
The post prompted an online search which revealed Ding’s identity, his date of birth and his school in Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu Province.
The parents of a 15-year-old Ding Jinhaohave since issued a grovelling national apology to their fellow countrymen over their son’s behaviour.
Washington, US
Jiamei Tian, 50, was arrested on suspicion of damaging two chapels of the Washington National Cathedral with green paint in August 2013.
Green paint was discovered splattered onto the Lincoln Memorial days earlier, and police believed the incidents were connected.
However the case against Tian was dismissed in January 2015 after a judge ruled that she was incompetent to stand trial.
