Rome street artist roundly criticised for defacing ancient Roman site.

Rome street artist Hogre has faced strong criticism for spray-painting onto the remains of an ancient Roman villa, part of a series of buildings and aqueducts in Rome's Parco degli Acquedotti, reports newspaper La Repubblica.The artwork, which features the embrace of two people wearing gas masks, was discovered on 25 March but was apparently created several days before that, during Italy's strict quarantine measures due to the Covid-19 crisis.

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The painting, made using a stencil, was sprayed onto a Roman cistern, on a section of modern wall used to strengthen the ruins of Villa delle Vignacce, which dates to between the second and fourth century AD.

When the director of the Appia Antica archaeological park, Simone Quilici, was alerted to the incident thanks to social media, he immediately sent some park guards to verify the extent of the damage. The case has been reported to the carabinieri.

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