Growing Number of Tourists Stealing Ancient Stonework in Rome

This will look great in my scrapbook! ©AJ Kelman

Roman tourists hoping to scavenge ancient cobblestones, marble mile markers and mosaic pieces will be answering to Roman police, if they’re caught at the ancient capital’s airports.

Over the weekend, police in Rome displayed a collection of those confiscated materials from the last six months.

Police chief Antonio Del Greco said: “It’s a particularly unusual theft and at the same time it’s one that we are finding is on the increase and happening more and more often.”

Police have found that the majority of ‘thieves’ are Northern Europeans and Brits. Tourists that are caught with the ancient souvenirs are not arrested, but given a warning after returning the items. Del Greco notes that it is technically theft, and that the tourists in question are “taking away part of Rome’s culture and heritage.”

More on the rising theft in Rome can be see at The Telegraph.

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