American Tourist Impaled On Colosseum’s Spiked Fence After Climbing Up To Snag A Photo

An American tourist was impaled on a spiked fence at the Colosseum in Rome on Friday after climbing the structure in an attempt to snap a photo, per multiple news reports.

The 47-year-old American, currently living in Taiwan, climbed the fence to get the photo and lost his footing, causing him to become stuck on the pointed top. Italian outlets, including Informazione.it and Il Messagero, reported that the man was screaming in agony for about twenty minutes before emergency personnel arrived to free him.

Per Il Messaggero, the unidentified man was administered a sedative so he could be removed from the spikes in a process that took an additional twenty minutes. Once freed, he was transported to a hospital where he received emergency surgery, including more than 80 stitches.

The outlet noted that the man was unable to speak for several hours after the accident, but was questioned by local police on Sunday. All that’s been reported so far is that the man was on vacation with family and friends. The police have not yet released specific details on how the accident occurred.

“It was terrible,” a witness told the outlet. “I saw that man impaled on a railing and he couldn’t free himself.”

There has also been talk of what punishments the man should face for breaking the rules. In 2023, a British tourist made headlines for carving his and his girlfriend’s names into the Colosseum walls. The crime meant he faced up to five years in prison and fines up to €15,000 ($16,850).

Then, a few weeks later, a Swiss girl attempted to do the same thing, per The Independent. 

“It is the first time I have managed to film an act of vandalism at the Colosseum but in six years I have seen dozens, there are also those who rip off parts of the wall,” David Battaglino told Repubblica Roma at the time. “They even spat on me once for scolding a boy.”