Tourist from England accused of carving name in Colosseum says he did not realise its age

The tourist allegedly engraved his and his girlfriend’s names into an internal wall of the 2,000-year-old landmark with a key.

A tourist from England accused of defacing the Colosseum has said he was not aware of the age of the ancient monument.

Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness instructor living in Bristol, wrote a letter of apology to the Rome mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, after allegedly engraving his and his girlfriend’s names into an internal wall of the 2,000-year-old landmark with a key.