Getty ImagesIf Americans keep doing stuff like this, they aren't going to let us visit other countries anymore.
Two tourists hailing from California were arrested this past weekend for carving their names into the wall of Rome's Colosseum. You know, the ancient, historical landmark that's been around since 80 A.D. and is now one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.
The ladies, ages 20 and 25 (read: old enough to know better), reportedly snuck away from their tour group to scratch their initials into the wall of the amphitheater with a coin. After they were done, do you think they quickly left the scene of the crime? Nope, they took a selfie.
There are signs in both Italian and English posted around the tourist site alerting people that defacing the Colosseum is strictly prohibited, and cops were quick to swoop in and arrest them.
"There's a difference in perception. Museums are treated like churches, sacred places where there are things of great value. Whereas the Colosseum is an incomplete building which has already been robbed," said a spokesman for the Special Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Rome.
The wall that was vandalized was not part of the original structure but was added in the 1800s when the pope commenced restoration work on the arena that once held gladiatorial events and reenactments of famous battles.
"It's not an original wall but it's nevertheless antique," the spokesman said.
The two women who were arrested will next go in front of a judge and will probably face a penalty. Three months ago, a Russian tourist was caught carving into the wall of Colosseum and was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine.
So next time you're at a famous landmark, resist defacement and just stick to the selfie. But hey, at least the girls are forever memorialized…as morons.