Not the smartest thing to do, as the last person who did this in 2014 (a Russian tourist, naturally) was caught and served a huge fine. According to Italian news agency ANSA, the act could carry a prison sentence of up to 5 years and a €15,000 (approx $16,400) fine.

Source: Telegraph

A man caught carving a romantic message onto the walls of the Colosseum caused uproar in Italy.

In a video posted online, a young man carrying a backpack was seen using a set of keys to carve the words “Ivan + Hayley 23” in full view of other tourists.

The moment was filmed by a bystander on June 23, according to the video’s time stamp, but was only picked up by Italian media on Monday.

The man, who was joined by a woman at his side, did not attempt to hide his actions when he noticed he was being filmed.

Instead, he grinned at the camera and continued to scratch the bricks even as the person filming was heard saying: “Are you f-----g serious, man? That is f----d-up, man. Stupid a-----e.”

The video, which was captioned: “A-----e tourist carves name in Colosseum in Rome”, drew a furious reaction on social media.

Italy's Minister of Culture promises the man will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.