Turista sfregia il Colosseo: “non sapevo che fosse così antico”

Tourist vandalizes Colosseum: “I didn’t know it was so ancient”

13 July, 2023

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qualche settimana fa, un turista è stato ripreso mentre incideva con delle chiavi il suo nome e quello della fidanzata sul muro del Colosseo: “Ivan+Hailey 23/6/2023”.

Il video del gesto vandalico, condiviso in mondovisione su Twitter, aveva provocato reazioni inferocite di molte persone, non solo italiane, scandalizzate dalla stupidità di quel gesto.

grazie al video, inoltre, l’autore dello sfregio era stato rapidamente individuato: Si tratta del 31enne Ivan Danailov, un personal trainer anglo-bulgaro.

Il ragazzo è stato subito indagato, e adesso rischia fino a 5 anni di reclusione e una multa di 15.000 euro.

qualche giorno fa, Danailov ha inviato una lettera al sindaco di Roma per scusarsi del suo gesto, aggiungendo però alle scuse una giustificazione piuttosto bizzarra: “non sapevo che il Colosseo fosse un monumento antico”.

Ci crediamo, o come si dice in Italia, si sta arrampicando sugli specchi? Che ne pensate?

Read this article at the intermediate and elementary levels!

Keywords

incidere: to carve, to engrave – 刻, 雕刻

vandalico/a: vandalistic – 破坏的

in mondovisione: on worldwide television – 在全球电视上

inferocito/a: furiouarrs – 愤怒的

scandalizzato/a: scandalized – 感到震惊的

lo sfregio: the scar – 疤痕

anglo-: Anglo- (prefix indicating English or relating to England) – 英国的

la reclusione: imprisonment – 监禁

la giustificazione: justification – 辩解

arrampicarsi sugli specchi: to grasp at straws – 力图找到站不住脚的理由

Grammar

Congiuntivo imperfetto
Imperfect subjunctive

“Non sapevo che il Colosseo fosse un monumento antico”
(I didn’t know that the Colosseum was an ancient monument)

The congiuntivo imperfetto (imperfect subjunctive) is used in this sentence because it expresses uncertainty or doubt about the truthfulness of the subordinate clause.

When the main verb is in a past tense, the congiuntivo imperfetto is often used in the subordinate clause to maintain the sequence of tenses. In this case, the speaker’s lack of knowledge about the Colosseum being an ancient monument occurred in the past, so “fosse” (was) is used instead of the present congiuntivo “sia” (is), which would imply current knowledge.

Here’s an example to illustrate the difference:

“Non credo che il Colosseo sia antico. (I don’t think that the Colosseum is an ancient monument.) – this sentence explains the current knowledge of the speaker
“Non credevo che il Colosseo fosse antico. (I don’t know that the Colosseum was ancient.) – this sentence explains the past knowledge of the speaker

Let’s see a few more examples to illustrate the use of congiuntivo imperfetto after verbs expressing doubt, disbelief, or ignorance:

Non credevo che tu fossi così bravo. (I didn’t believe that you were so good.)
Dubitavo che avessero ragione. (I doubted that they were right.)
Non sapevamo che fossero già partiti. (We didn’t know that they had already left.)
Non pensavo che fosse possibile. (I didn’t think that was possible.)
Era difficile che lui capisse la situazione. (It was unlikely that he understood the situation.)

Translation

A few weeks ago, a tourist was caught on camera carving his name and his girlfriend’s name on the wall of the Colosseum with keys: “Ivan+Hailey 23/6/23”.

The video of this vandalistic act went viral on Twitter, causing furious reactions from many people, not only Italians but also from around the world, who were scandalized by the stupidity of that gesture.

Thanks to the video, the perpetrator of the act was quickly identified: 31-year-old Ivan Danailov, an Anglo-Bulgarian personal trainer.

The young man was immediately investigated and now faces up to 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros.

A few days ago, Danailov sent a letter to the Mayor of Rome to apologize for his action, adding to the apology a rather bizarre justification: “I didn’t know that the Colosseum was an ancient monument.”

Do we believe him, or as we say in Italy, is he grasping at straws? What do you think?

Turista sfregia il Colosseo: “non sapevo che fosse così antico”