Two California women did their best to prove the "ugly American" tourist stereotype on Saturday when they carved their initials into the Colosseum in Rome.
The women, ages 21 and 25, left their tour group and used a coin to carve a "J" and an "N", The Guardian reports. They were caught by security after they documented their crime by taking a selfie. The initials were about 3 inches high, on a wall that was restored during the 1800s. Defacing the Colosseum is strictly forbidden — if common sense doesn't stop a person, signs everywhere in English and Italian get the message across.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Supreme Court to resolve Louisiana gerrymanderSpeed Read The court will hear a case challenging the second majority-Black district in the state
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
America might be in a second Gilded AgeIn the Spotlight The first Gilded Age was marked by rising inequality and a push for social change
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
