Italy is looking for the young man who appeared in a viral video recording his name and that of his apparent girlfriend in the Colosseum in Rome.
Italy's culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish the tourist for damaging the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheatre, a crime that carries large fines.
The person who recorded the video asks that the event serve as an example.
"Honestly, I would like this person to learn his lesson. Honestly, whether he has to pay the fine or not, after all. If learning the lesson means paying the fines, then so be it, but I sincerely want him and anyone else who thinks of doing something like that will realize that it is not acceptable behavior," says Ryan Lutza, the tourist who recorded and handed over the video to authorities.
The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, described the graffiti - "Ivan+Haley 23" - recorded in the Flavio Amphitheatre, as "serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility". He said he hoped the culprits would be found "and punished according to our laws."
The Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanche, also said that she hoped that the tourist would be sanctioned "so that he understands the seriousness of the gesture." And she asked for respect for the culture and history of Italy: "We cannot allow those who visit our nation to feel free to behave like this."
The event occurs at a time when citizens complain about the hordes of tourists that flood the eternal city. In 2014, a Russian tourist carved his initial with a sharp stone on one of the walls, and he was sentenced to pay a fine of €20,000 and four months in prison, which he never did.
