After flinging an e-scooter down Rome’s famed Spanish Steps, an American tourist has inflicted $25,000 in damage.
After film revealed her deciding to drive the hired vehicle through the 18th century Unesco World Heritage Site, the 28-year-old and her male friend, 29, were fined $400 by police.
A bystander captured the woman struggle down the stairs with the electric scooter, and instead of pushing it down, she pushed it and watched it tumble into the newly restored stone.
The two are forbidden to visit the iconic monument, which was made famous by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the film Roman Holiday.
In 2015, the site underwent a $1.5 million repair effort, which was funded by high-end jeweler Bulgari.
The incident occurred at 3.45 a.m. on Friday morning, and police were able to find the two thanks to security camera footage.
It came just weeks after a Saudi businessman, 37, ‘took a wrong turn’ and drove a Maserati down the Spanish Steps.
The tourist told Corriere della Sera: ‘Yes, it was me who drove the car down the Spanish Steps. But I just took a wrong turn.’
After driving down the iconic spot, he stated that he did not believe it was “that serious.”
When the businessman drove down the steps on his way home with a Romanian woman he had met in a nightclub, he tried to reverse back up them.
He had no choice but to contact a tow truck before a passing motorist assisted him in getting the car back on the road.
The Steps are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created by architect Francesco de Sanctis between 1723 and 1726 and overshadowed by the Trinita dei Monti church at the top.
The Spanish Embassy is also located at the top of the stairs, lending the site its name.
