These incidents can be roughly categorized into two groups. First, there are the true accidents: someone trips into a painting or takes a wrong turn while driving. Perhaps a curious child reaches out to touch a multi-million-dollar Rothko. Then there is the reckless behavior that is harder to account for. This includes the tourist who had to issue an apology after sitting on a 19th-century Antonio Canova sculpture, snapping off its toes, and another who climbed and humped a nude statue of Bacchus while drunk. In the age of social media, risky stunts are becoming more commonplace, as the teen who scaled the dome of Florence’s Duomo for Instagram likes proves.

While this kind of behavior happens at destinations around the world, Italy often bears the brunt of this phenomenon. But the country’s struggle with naughty tourists isn’t just about clumsy accidents or viral stunts, it’s about how cultural treasures are failing to be adequately protected. With visitor numbers breaking records and government ministries passing the buck, the responsibility for safeguarding centuries-old monuments often falls to local authorities and individual institutions. Experts warn that without a cultural shift—one that privileges education and preservation over short-term profit—Italy’s heritage will remain vulnerable to everything from careless selfies to outright vandalism.

‘Nothing More than a Playground’

“Monuments are essentially seen as attractions, giant and surprising ‘permanent installations’ in a country that, for many, is nothing more than a playground,” said the art historian Giacomo Montanari, who is cultural councilor for the city of Genoa in Northern Italy.

He recalled how one tourist claimed “I didn’t know it was old,” when forced to explain why he had carved his and his girlfriend’s initials into the Colosseum in 2023. “Incredible isn’t it,” said Montanari. “You come to Rome and pay to see the Colosseum, but you have no idea what era it belongs to, what it was, or who built it.” Rather than sites for education, he added, monuments have been turned into attractions principally cherished for their economic value.

The problem, has become increasingly dire as tourist numbers swell. In 2024, Rome set a new annual visitor record by attracting 22.2 million holidaymakers, a five percent increase from 2023.

Overtourism in Europe as a whole has reached an inflection point in the last year with protests erupting in Spain, staff striking at the Louvre in Paris, and activists disrupting Jeff Bezos’s wedding plans in Venice. Some travel experts have suggested that the ills of mass tourism have been exacerbated by the pandemic thanks to what has become known as “revenge travel.” Despite complaints from citizens, lawmakers have often been slow to address the issue because of the revenue the tourism industry brings in.

“In Italy, the tendency to view tourists as ‘untouchable’ because they bring money fuels this disrespect,” agreed Patrizia Asproni, a cultural management expert in Rome. “Respect must start with us, the citizens. If we value and defend our heritage, we can demand the same from those who visit.”

Who Should Protect Cultural Heritage?

Are Italian officials doing anything to curb tourists damaging the country’s cultural treasures? When contacted for comment, each ministry tried to shift responsibility: the Ministry of Tourism suggested getting in touch with the Culture Ministry. A spokesperson for the latter replied that “the whole issue seems an ‘overtourism’ problem, which concerns the ministry of tourism, not so much that of culture.” Follow-up requests went unanswered.

With no clear national plan, the burden has fallen to local authorities, who issue fines or, in serious cases, pursue criminal charges. Some cities are also stepping up measures to prevent incidents—like when a tourist recently drove a Mercedes partway down Rome’s Spanish Steps—before they happen.

Rome is currently halfway through its 2025 Jubilee, a yearlong religious event that sees millions of pilgrims descend on the Italian capital. A spokesperson for the city’s police force noted it has invested heavily in plans to protect the city during this time, including by hiring 1,000 additional police officers.

“Increased patrols are now carried out 24 hours a day in the busiest and most vandal-prone areas, such as the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, along with the strengthening of video surveillance systems,” the spokesperson said. They added that a new communications campaign will shortly be launched to “raise tourists’ awareness of the need to respect the rules and monuments of our city.”

Blurry video still showing a crowded gallery, with a man leaning into a painting.

Still from a video showing a museum visitor leaning against a painting at the Uffizi, damaging it. Photo: Screenshot.

When it comes to prevention, some individual cultural sites are also taking matters into their own hands. In June, after a tourist accidentally fell into an 18th-century portrait at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence while posing for a photograph, the museum’s director Simone Verde vowed to introduce new “anti-selfie measures.”

“The problem of visitors who come to museums to make memes or take selfies for social media is rampant,” he declared. “We will set very precise limits, preventing behavior that is not compatible with the purpose of our institutions and respect for cultural heritage.”

A Radical Rethink of Responsibility

But according to some leading arts professionals, there is only one real, long-term solution to the problem: a radical rethink of how cultural heritage is “exploited” by the tourism industry in Italy. A model that values quality over quantity.

Asproni noted various measures across the country to reduce the impact of overtourism, including timed tickets to museums and, at one time, an entry fee for day-trippers to Venice. “While these measures can help in the short term, their impact is limited when they are not part of a broader strategy,” she said, advocating for regulated access to fragile sites and the reinvestment of revenue into preservation. “Education is essential. Visitors should understand what it means to be a guest through targeted campaigns before and during their trip.”

In the spring of 2024, Venice piloted a €5 ($5) entry fee for 29 days that caused plenty of confusion at entry points into the historic city. Results were mixed. Arrivals were stopped and asked to show their QR codes as proof of payment, with day-trippers who had forgotten waiting to complete the 10-minute online process. Regular commuters, students, and long-time residents had to carry proof of their exemption to the rule, an imposition that resulted in a 500 people strong protest in Venice’s main bus terminal. Some locals even worried the measure is a concerning violation of our right to freedom of movement.

Despite this dissent, the same entry fee was applied again this year, for three months from April 18 until July 27. It remains to be seen whether it can stem the tide of visitors to Venice, which has been known to reach 600,000 a month during high season. Regulation to culture may be complicated to implement but some popular destinations clearly feel they have no other choice.

“One of the characteristics that makes Italy unique is its dense artistic and cultural heritage,” said Montanari. “This cannot be considered a ‘resource’ to be exploited or the ‘oil’ of the nation. Our heritage is consumed and put at risk even without violent and reckless acts.”

He believes a more sustainable approach that would involve investing in a new generation of cultural workers and educators is possible, although this will require prioritizing in-depth knowledge and thoughtful planning over profits. “It is time to say enough is enough to the hordes of tourists crammed together just to allow operators to sell more tickets.”