Guilt-riddled American tourist returns swiped Roman marble chunk
A millennia-old chunk of history is back where it belongs.
An American tourist who swiped a piece of marble likely from Roman ruins has mailed the ancient artifact back to its native land — with an apology.
“To Sam, love Jess. Rome 2017,” reads the inscription — in what appears to be marker — of the fragment that was returned to the National Roman Museum, reported BBC News on Thursday.
Included with the marble chunk was a note from the thieving tourist asking for forgiveness.
“I feel terribly for not only taking this item from its rightful place, but also placing writing on it as well,” wrote the mystery traveler.
The person, presumably a woman named Jess, claimed she tried ridding the marble of the marker after “many hours of scrubbing and cleaning” but ultimately failed.
Museum director Stèphane Verger told Italian newspaper Il Messagero that the stone had little value and likely had been from a boosted from a site such as the Roman Forum.
He believed the shamed tourist visited Rome in 2017 and took the stone as a present for her boyfriend.
Verger added that he was touched by the sincerity of the letter that was postmarked in Atlanta.
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“It affected me precisely because she is a young woman,” explained the museum director. “She realized she was wrong. It is a spontaneous gesture but the fruit of conscious reflection.”
Verger believed that Jess’ apology derived from hardships produced by the coronavirus pandemic. He recalled a similar instance in which a Canadian woman returned stolen items from a 2005 trip to Pompeii.
That woman, identified only as Nicole, returned mosaic tiles and an amphora that she claimed were cursed.
