Who is Roman Colosseum tourist Ivan Dimitrov? Search underway for man accused of defacing historic amphitheatre 

Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old Bulgarian-born fitness instructor from Britain, was identified as the tourist who carved “Ivan+Haley 23” on the 2000 year-old Roman Colosseum last week. The incident occurred last week. It came to public attention when a video of a tourist in a blue flowery shirt scratching his and his apparent girlfriend's name on the Colosseum walls went viral.

The identification was made by Italian police using photographic comparisons with the help of the video that showed the tourist engraving the names with a key on the Colosseum's ancient wall, authorities said in a statement.

The footage was filmed by a fellow tourist, Ryan Lutz from Orange City, California, who witnessed Ivan Dimitrov vandalizing the historic heritage site while he was visiting the amphitheatre. Lutz then posted the video on YouTube and Reddit, where it received thousands of social media views and was picked up by Italian media.

Shortly after, the Italian police announced that they were looking for the man in the clip as numerous prominent officials condemned the act. In a Twitter statement, Italy's Minister for Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, wrote:

"This action offended all those around the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history. I now hope that justice will take its course by strictly applying the laws."

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Colosseum tourist Ivan Dimitrov lives in Bristol in southwest England

Ivan Dimitrov and Hayley Bracey (Image via Bree A Dail/Twitter)

On Friday, June 30, Italian police announced that they are now searching for Roman Colosseum tourist Ivan Dimitrov after he was seen vandalizing the historic amphitheatre. European Media widely reported that Ivan Dimitrov is a 27-year-old British citizen. He is reportedly a Bulgarian-born fitness instructor who also goes by the name Ivan Hawkins.

Ivan reportedly lives with his long-term girlfriend, 33-year-old Hayley Bracey, in the city of Bristol in southwest, England, where she runs her own sports nutrition business. While police have yet to apprehend the tourist, in a press release, they revealed "that the proceeding is in the preliminary investigation phase, therefore the suspect must consider himself innocent until a final sentence is issued."

Meanwhile, Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said that if the case goes to trial, the Ministry of Culture will appear as a plaintiff in court.

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Ivan Dimitrov could face up to 5 years in prison

Italian news agency Ansa reported that, if convicted, Ivan could face a fine of at least 15,000 euros ($16,360) or up to five years in prison. Multiple reports stated that this is the fourth time a tourist was found engraving names into the historic amphitheatre.

In 2014, a Russian tourist was fined €20,000 ($21,800) and received a four-year suspended jail sentence after scratching the letter ‘K’ on a wall of the Colosseum.

In his official statement, Sangiuliano added that a government bill that would make vandals defacing Italian heritage sites financially liable is currently passing through parliament.