The women from California, aged 21 and 25-years-old, have allegedly used a coin to engrave the letters J and N, La Stampa has reported.
Once their backdrop was complete, they then proceeded on to pose for a selfie.
The women allegedly broke away from their tour group on Saturday when the incident occurred, and were spotted carrying out the act of vandalism by fellow tourists who then told security.
The pair were approached by Italian officials and charged with ‘aggravated damage on a building of historical and artistic interest.’
After they were caught, the women apologized to Italian police – at the time, not realizing the extent of their actions or the consequences to follow.
“We apologize for what we did. We regret it but we did not imagine it was something so serious,” they told the Daily Mail.
“We’ll remember for a lifetime.”
Captain Lorenzo Iacobone said the young women apologized for the vandalism, but such acts “are extremely serious, and no one considers the damage they are creating.”
The women – whose names have not been released – although freed, now face a hefty fine as punishment.
A similar case occurred last November, when Roman authorities presented a Russian tourist with what converts to an approximate $28,000AUD penalty for carving his own initials into the historic landmark – and if this is anything to go by, that’s one expensive selfie.
As a result of such incidents, there is a call for more personnel to properly guard Rome’s archeological treasures.
Thousands of people visit the amphitheatre every day, and with its many hidden corners along with high volumes of traffic, Iacobone also adds that it is impossible to monitor everyone’s actions. Thus, it is in the hands of tourists to respect ancient monuments such as this.
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