SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Walls of the House of Ceii in Pompeii have been up since the 2nd century BC. They’ve survived the volcanic eruption that buried the city and, more recently, vandalism by a tourist who carved into them.
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A man from the Republic of Kazakhstan was detained after carving “ALI” into the ancient building, according to Kazinform International News Agency . It said security staff at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii noticed the vandalism and immediately detained the man, who was arrested. Artnet reported that the incident occurred June 22 and it was immediately reported to local authorities called the Carabinieri.
“In Italy, our citizen was detained for illegally writing an inscription on a historical building. After completing all the necessary formalities with law enforcement agencies, he was released,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan said. Further proceedings will be administrative and “the Kazakh citizen will not be subject to criminal prosecution,” per the Kazinform International News Agency report.
House of Ceii was excavated in 1913 and 1914 and an electoral inscription painted on the façade indicates it belonged to magistrate Lucius Ceius Secundus, said the Archaeological Park of Pompeii .
“Upon entering the house one notices the impluvium bath which is made of fragments of amphorae set on edge, a common technique used in Greece and attested in Pompeii also in the House of the Ancient Hunt,” it said.
“The back wall in the small garden is decorated with wild animals, a highly successful theme in the decoration of open areas. The side walls depict Egyptian style landscapes with animals of the Nile Delta, which probably indicated a link between the owner of the house and the cult of Isis, widespread in Pompeii in the last years of life of the city.”
Artnet said Gennaro Sangiuliano, Italy’s culture minister, denounced the recent act of vandalism.
“Unfortunately, even today, we find ourselves commenting on an uncivilized and idiotic disgrace caused to our artistic and cultural heritage,” said Sangiuliano in a press statement. “This is a very serious act that will have to be prosecuted severely and, also thanks to the new law that I strongly supported, the perpetrator will be forced to repay the costs of fully restoring the damage caused.”
This is far from the first time that tourists have caused trouble in Italy. Audacy has reported on four different incidents since late 2022, when an American tourist was taken custody after he demanded to see the pope and damaged two busts and two other U.S. tourists were apprehended for damaging the Spanish Steps . Last summer, a tourist was recorded on video defacing the historic Colosseum in Rome and a woman trespassed into the Trevi fountain to fill up her water bottle . Then, in December, Chinese tourists flipped over a gondola ride in Venice while taking selfies.
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