Once again tourists in Italy have shown a complete disregard the country’s cultural heritage. The Tourism Minister labels them vandal tourists.
Not long after a spate of tourists carve their names into the walls of the Colosseum in Rome, and a group of German tourists break a statue whilst taking selfies, ‘vandal tourists’ have struck again.
In Rome, a tourist scaled the Trevi Fountain to fill up her water bottle. The baroque masterpiece is a popular attraction designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi. Climate activists have also targeted the famous fountain.
The incident was captured by Lex Jones, who couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Jones told Storyful, “There were signs all over saying that’s not allowed. I was just like, wow, this is crazy so I started videoing it.”
In Venice, a British tourist ignored warnings from onlookers before jumping from five stories high into one of the city’s canals.
In June, two American tourists were caught pushing and throwing their electric scooters down the Spanish Steps in Rome. Their actions caused €25,000 worth of damage, according to local officials.
Daniela Santanchè, Italy’s tourism minister, said it’s time for governments to crack down. “These tourists are also vandals, because they have no respect for our cultural heritage, which belongs not just to Italy, but to the whole world,” Santanchè said. “We’ve introduced a bill with a very simple concept: You break it, you pay for it.”
The vandal tourists issue is Europe-wide
Recently, in Paris, two drunk Americans were found sleeping atop the iconic Eiffel Tower. Days later, a man climbed to the very top of the tower and jumped off, deploying a parachute.
In April, the city of Amsterdam warned British tourists. “Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away.”
Some have put the blame on a rise in tourism. It would seem to be more basic than that – complete ignorance of what the tourists are visiting/looking at. You fear people are visiting, not to learn about the history or culture, but because it’s on bucket list, or good for their social media.
Whatever the reason, the vandal tourists are jeopardising centuries of history and cultural artefacts out of total ignorance.
