A young foreign tourist who had stolen some pumice stones from the Pompeii archaeological park, in southern Italy, returned the objects because he believed he had been subjected to a “curse”.
The package with the stones reached the park director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, with an anonymous apology in which the woman says she hopes regret will help her heal.
“I didn't know about the curse. I didn't know I couldn't pick up any stones. After a year, I got breast cancer. I'm a young, healthy woman, and the doctors said it was just 'bad luck'. Please accept my apology and these objects”, wrote the tourist.
The photo of the note and the stones was published by Zuchtriegel himself on X (formerly Twitter). “Dear anonymous sender of this letter? Did pumice stones reach Pompeii? Now good luck for your future and 'in mouth al lupo', as we say in Italy”, wrote the director.
Pompeii is a Roman-era city devastated by an eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in the year 79, and an ancient superstition holds that all those who steal items from the archaeological site suffer from bad luck.
Pumice is a volcanic rock produced in the ejection of gases during an eruption and is characterized by its spongy and abrasive appearance.
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