The tourist from the UK who carved his girlfriend’s initials on the Colosseum and caused widespread uproar has asked for forgiveness.
Ivan Dimitrov, a Bristol resident, was discovered by an irate tourist while etching the names Hayley Bracey and he into the 2,000-year-old building in Rome.
The incident’s video quickly went viral before the Italian Carabinieri located the two in Bulgaria this week.
Over 300,000 people have seen the video captioned “A*****e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23”.
According to spokesman and Major Roberto Martina, Carabinieri claimed Dimitrov expressed “sincere remorse” for his deeds.
Mr. Martina told Mail Online, “He told us he was very upset by what he had done and he kept apologising for it.”
“I believe he was concerned about the outcomes of any trial, and we explained that he could receive a sentence of up to €15,000 in fines and up to two years in jail.”
Mr. Martina continued by saying that because of the video, the case will be rather simple.
He called us when we found his mobile number in hotel records and left him a message asking him to call, Mr. Martina said.
“These were all discussed to him because he was naturally concerned about the legal repercussions.
We only informed him that he was a suspect and that the investigation involved him; the judge will decide why he did it.
Ms. Bracey, according to Mr. Martina, “is not a party to any complaint and is an innocent party in our eyes.”
She “could be seen as an accessory, technically,” he remarked.
