Two US soldiers could face up to three years in prison and an $11,000 fine in connection with spray-painting a 15th-century basilica in the latest case of foreigners defacing an Italian monument.
The two suspects, named only as AJ Jr., 29, and BME, 23, allegedly spray-painted the graffiti on the Palladian Basilica in Vicenza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One image shows Mayor Giacomo Possamai and Deputy Police Commander Nives Pillan standing in front of the pillar. Pillan can also be seen in another photo holding up the bottle of red paint used for the shocking act.
The two US soldiers, reportedly stationed at the US military base Del Din, formally known as Caserma Ederle (Camp Ederle), have been identified by Italian authorities.
One of the two men was found to be in possession of the red paint and both reportedly admitted to applying graffiti to the building.
CCTV reportedly still shows the Palladian basilica in Vicenza, Italy’s northeast, being desecrated
The graffiti on the 15th century basilica. The two suspects, named only as AJ Jr., 29, and BME, 23, allegedly spray-painted the graffiti on the building
The soldiers’ identities were revealed after cooperating with the US Department of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division.
A statement from the city of Vicenza on Saturday, obtained by Newsflash, said: “Those who, a week ago, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, defaced the column of the Palladian Basilica on the corner between Piazza dei Signori and Piazzetta Palladio have identified.
“They are two American nationals serving at the Del Din military base, AJ Jr., age 29, and BME, age 23.”
Mayor Possamai is quoted as saying, ‘First of all I would like to thank the local police and the Carabinieri of the Setaf for identifying the two individuals responsible for damaging the column of the basilica. It was a mean and serious act that we condemned from the beginning.”
He added: “In just a few days, we managed to identify the perpetrators, two soldiers from the American Del Din base, who admitted to having been present in the square and to be the authors of this regrettable act , especially one of the two.
So they are guilty of a crime. We will also request compensation for the city through activities to be determined in collaboration with the American base.’
Mayor Giacomo Possamai and a police officer in front of the graffiti on the Palladian Basilica in Vicenza, Italy
According to the statement, the incident took place at 2:19 am on Sunday, July 23, when the US soldiers allegedly used red paint on the national monument in Piazza dei Signori.
Before reaching Piazza dei Signori and the basilica, the pair reportedly made a similar drawing on an information totem in Piazza Matteotti, near the Olympic Theater, RaiNews reports.
In addition to the criminal file of the Italian judiciary, the two American citizens also risk an investigation by the American military authority, according to the Italian media.
Italian authorities said the pair were identified using CCTV footage. According to the statement, they served for the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa at the Del Din base.
Authorities said the pair were detained and the soldier who sprayed the paint on the column, AJ Jr., allegedly confessed, while authorities confiscated the paint.
Deputy Police Chief Nives Pillan holds up the bottle of red paint used for the shocking act
Earlier this month, a 17-year-old Swiss girl was reported to have carved her initials into Rome’s Colosseum just weeks after another tourist defaced the building.
Police launched an investigation after Italian tour guide David Battaglino captured video footage of the unidentified girl carving the letter “N” into the wall, La Repubblica reported.
A video posted to Twitter by the Italian news agency ANSA shows the girl, whose face is blurred, using an object to cut out the letter before noticing she is being filmed and stopping.
“It’s the first time I’ve managed to film an act of vandalism inside the Colosseum, but in six years I’ve seen dozens,” Battaglino told La Repubblica Roma.
‘There are also those who break down parts of the wall. They even spat on me once for calling a boy names,” he added.
Last month, a man was caught carving his and his girlfriend’s name into the ancient monument.
Ivan Dimitrov, 27, a fitness coach, also known as Ivan Hawkins, was caught on camera by American vacationer Ryan Lutz as he carved the words “Ivan and Hayley 23” into the brickwork with a set of wrenches on June 23. .
Bulgarian-born Ivan was in Rome with his long-term girlfriend Hayley Bracey, 33, and officials were furious at the wanton vandalism and vowed to track down the perpetrator.
The couple, who live in Bristol, visited the city as part of a three-week European tour.
They were located by police in Bulgaria after being identified through CCTV footage and hotel records.