Tourist who defaced Colosseum is a fitness coach in UK: report

The tourist who sparked outrage after he was caught on video carving up the Colosseum in Rome has been identified in a report as a Bulgarian-born fitness instructor who lives in the UK.

Ivan Dimitrov, 27, allegedly used a key to carve “Ivan + Hayley 23” into the nearly 2,000-year-old iconic landmark in the Italian capital, the Daily Mail reported.

The tourist — who also goes by the name Ivan Hawkins — is originally from Lovech, Bulgaria, but now lives in Bristol, where he works as a fitness coach and a delivery driver, according to the outlet.

He was with his girlfriend Hayley Bracey, 33, when he was captured defacing the ancient amphitheater on Friday, smiling gleefully while clad in a periwinkle shirt and shorts, the report said.

“The people we are looking for have left the country but we are sure that we will have their precise location by the end of the day,” a Carabinieri paramilitary police source told the Daily Mail on Thursday.

“I can confirm they are British residents, and the man is younger than the woman. They are traveling together and arrived in Italy on June 21 and left on June 26,” the source said. “The man is of Bulgarian origin and the woman British. They were staying in a B and B on the outskirts of Rome and we have their details.”

The police official added that investigators have identified the man but not the woman, who was not seen in the viral video.

Bracey — who is believed to run her own sports nutrition business — and Dimitrov live together in the suburb of Keynsham, not far from the Longwell Green gym where he works, The Daily Mail said.

Her mother told the news outlet: “No, that can’t be right. She wouldn’t do anything like that. She’s on holiday in Italy. Ivan is her partner, and they are both away.”

Bracey’s dad said: “I’ve got nothing to say.”

Ryan Lutz, of Orange, California, who is on a two-month backpacking trip through Europe, filmed the incident and posted the video on YouTube and Reddit.

He said that he had just finished a guided tour of the Colosseum when he saw the person “blatantly carving his name” in the wall. He said he took out his phone to record the man because he was so shocked at what he was doing.

“And as you see in the video, I kind of approach him and ask him, dumbfounded at this point, ‘Are you serious? Are you really serious?’” Lutz said. “And all he could do is like smile at me.”

Lutz said he even tried to get a guard to take action, but neither the guard nor his supervisor did anything, even after Lutz identified the person and offered to share the footage.

Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish the cheeky tourist for his brazen act.

Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano called the incident a “serious, undignified and a sign of great incivility.”  

The incident marked the fourth time this year that such graffiti was reported at the Colosseum – and whoever was responsible for the latest episode risked $15,000 in fines and up to five years behind bars, Italian news agency ANSA said.

Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche said she hoped the tourist would be sanctioned “so that he understands the gravity of the gesture.”

“We cannot allow those who visit our nation to feel free to behave in this way,” she said.

On Dimitrov’s business page on Facebook – Ivan Fitness and Coaching – there are several images and videos of him at the gym.

“Always hungry for results and always ready to work and do my best! (and be silly lol),” he tells prospective clients.