UK Edition
Rome mulls no-go zone around Colosseum after acts of vandalism
Authorities in Rome are considering creating a no-go zone that would be monitored by surveillance cameras to protect the Colosseum following the intrusion of two men at the monument and the latest episode of vandalism
In the early hours of Monday, two Brazilian men attempted to climb over a gate to access the Colosseum and lost their balance, falling four metres. While one of the men escaped unscathed, the other fractured his hipbone.
On Monday afternoon two words were found spray-painted on a pillar, reading "Balto" and "Morte" (death).
"We are considering the idea of creating a no access zone, a red zone," Francesco Prosperetti, the special superintendent for the Colosseum and the Roman Forum told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
"The area would be separated not by physical barriers but rather by chains defining the zone where video surveillance would be installed. The red zone would reproduce that of ancient Rome, with a radius of about 15 metres," Mr Prosperetti said, before clarifying that the plan would be run by Rome city council with which "we have been working jointly on numerous themes, including the Imperial Forums."
Mr Prosperetti said police were studying CCTV to ascertain whether the two Brazilians were responsible for the vandalism, adding that restorers were already at work to fix the damage.
He stressed the priority should be to "prevent this sort of episode."
"We worry that this could become a game and people could start competing over it," he said.
The superintendent said authorities had been trying to put together a plan to prevent this sort of episode since the scaffolding used for restoration of the monument came off a few months ago.
The solution "is not easy", Mr Prosperetti said. "Our idea is to create a ring-shaped area during closure time safeguarded by an anti-intrusion system. The issue is finding a way to distinguish between animal and human intrusion, otherwise you'll have a cat triggering the alarm."
Currently the monument has no night surveillance as "we don't have enough staff", the superintendent pointed out. "We have someone overseeing at the Palatine Hill that intervenes when something happens, like we saw last night."
The vulnerability of historical heritage has come back in the spotlight after Bernini's Elephant and Obelisk was damaged last November. While the sculpture has been restored since the event, authorities have not been able to identify who was responsible for the damage.
"Today's vandalism on the Colosseum is an affront to a monument symbol of the world's cultural heritage," Dario Franceschini, minister of cultural heritage and tourism, said.
The minister pointed out that a new law approved by the Italian government before Christmas aims to reduce this sort of crime by doubling the sentence for vandalising cultural heritage from a minimum of one year to a maximum of five.
"I hope Parliament will finish examining the law soon so we can put it in place as soon as possible."
The Colosseum, built in 80 AD, is the largest Roman amphitheatre in the world and was once covered in blood during bitter gladiatorial contests that captivated ancient Rome.
The monument, which these days attracts more than five million visitors a year, is undergoing wide-ranging restoration and upgrade including the construction of a new visitor centre.