A sign asking tourists to leave Italy was seen on Wednesday (2) on the southern slope of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, in the far north of the country.
The phrase “Tourists go home” had been present for a few days on a large stone in the region, but gained national repercussion after Moreno Pesce, a mountaineer and Paralympic athlete, shared the inscription on social media.
The vandals wrote the phrase at a spot close to where two dinosaur footprints were recently discovered.
“The first person who should stay at home is the author of such a gesture, if freedom of thought is confused with living in the mountains, disfiguring the most beautiful peaks in the world,” declared Pesce.
No one has claimed responsibility for the act of vandalism, but it is connected to the overcrowding of the Dolomites, especially in summer, when kilometer-long queues form.
“Not only was the rock disfigured, but also a prehistoric testimony. This is an absolutely reprehensible act. I trust that whoever is responsible will realize what he has done and repent.”
I thank the athletes who discovered and reported this graffiti, which I hope can be erased,” lamented the governor of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia. (HANDLE)
