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American tourists return stolen Colloseum rock after 25 years
In an event bound to give American tourists a bad/worse name abroad, 2 Californian tourists have mailed back a chunk of the Colosseum they stole 25 years ago.They had the small rock in their souvenir collection, but claim they kept feeling guilty every time they saw it (which begs the question why they didn't mail it back sooner).
Of course, once chipped off the landmark, you can't exactly glue it back in place, so the real damage had already been done.
Still, the head of the tourist board accepted their apology, and invited them to come back to Rome any time they want. He even used the news as an opportunity to promote his city some more, saying "The message is that visitors to our city continue to cherish it even after so many years".
The lesson to be learned here is as simple as it is logical - do no steal pieces of historical landmarks.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rita Moreno May 29th 2009 8:39PM
It's not a new idea that of returning pieces by mail. A stone taken from Ephesus, Turkey, was sent back to te city museum and has the letter dispaying with the slogan "Each rose in it's garden, each stone in it's city". Nice to know people are getting more conscoius.
C Aug 3rd 2009 9:08AM
I once took a loose rock from the ground at Tulum which was a bad idea but to actually chip something away from a standing structure? Thats more then criminal. I did take the rock back but I did not wait 25 years. I returned the following year and placed it back in the very spot that I had found it. Funny thing about that rock, it could sit in the sun all day long and still fill as cold as ice.