To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Alex Cope, Agency: Newsflash

This female tourist that climbed on top of the ancient ruins of the Central Baths in Pompeii to take a selfie has caused outrage.

The scandal erupted when the woman who took the selfie was also photographed and now the local police are investigating and studying CCTV images of the incident.

They confirmed that the image posted on social media was a recent incident that happened on 15th August.

Her name and nationality are currently unknown, but they said that she had broken the rules of the archaeological park which expressly forbids climbing or even sitting or leaning against the monuments on the site.

In a statement, a spokesman for the area said: “Following the irresponsible gesture of the young tourist who climbed to the roof of the Central Baths of Pompeii to take some personal photos, […] reported by some newspapers and social webs, the Direction of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii . . . underlines that access to the roofs of the Baths is forbidden to the public.

“This deplorable act underlines the need for more respect for the general rules for visiting the site.”

They said they were cooperating with officials to track down the person in the pictures, and would be taking further steps to prevent similar abuse of the archaeological heritage of Pompeii.

Like other buildings in Pompeii, in the Italian region of Campania, the baths were buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, which consequently preserved them.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.