Italian culture minister slams "very serious" act.

Italy's culture minister has condemned the actions of a tourist who was filmed carving the name of his girlfriend into a wall inside the Colosseum in Rome.

Gennaro Sangiuliano on Twitter posted footage of the incident which he slammed as “very serious” and “a sign of great incivility".

The minister also shared a blurred image of the tourist's face and expressed his hopes that the individual can be "identified and fined according to our laws".

The tourist, as yet unidentified, risks "a fine of at least €15,000 and up to five years in jail", reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Reputo gravissimo, indegno e segno di grande inciviltà, che un turista sfregi uno dei luoghi più celebri al mondo, il Colosseo, per incidere il nome della sua fidanzata. Spero che chi ha compiuto questo gesto venga individuato e sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) June 26, 2023

In the original video, which was shared widely on social media on Sunday, the tourist turns and smiles at the camera.

Last summer a Canadian tourist used a stone to carve the initials of her name into an external wall of the Colosseum while in 2019 an Israeli tourist carved the initials of the names of her husband and children into an internal pillar of the amphitheatre.

In 2014 a Russian tourist was fined €20,000 after carving a large letter “K” on a wall inside the Roman landmark.