Usually, hopefully, one wrong turn doesn’t lead to disaster. Just make a U-turn at the next opportunity. Or three lefts to make it right. For one Italian man, neither was an option when he mistakenly drove down one of Rome’s famous monuments, the Spanish Steps. Yup, it was all downhill from there.
In the dark, wee hours of Tuesday morning, a man in his 80s found himself traveling down the 18th-century staircase not by foot but via his Mercedes-Benz A-Class. And instead of backing up to find an actual vehicular roadway, the man pressed on. Video of the incident has gone viral, and the New York Times spoke with the man behind the lens:
“Sowad Mujibullah was working a night shift at a nearby hotel just before 4 a.m. when he heard a loud sound and saw the car come down the steps. He initially thought that it was part of a movie shoot, but ‘then I realized, no, it was not like that, because nobody was there.'”
Mujibullah continued that the Spanish Steps are one of Italy’s most historic places and “should not be destroyed by these crazy things.”
Unfortunately, the Roman cultural site has been damaged by vehicles multiple times. Recent events have been at the hands of tourists behaving embarrassingly. The summer of 2022, for example, proved to be one of arrests, repairs, and shame. In May of that year, a Saudi national drove his Maserati rental down the steps and then fled the scene. Check out NBC News‘ video report below:
The following month, an American couple, to their credit, walked their e-scooters down the steps. At least initially. Eventually, the woman hurls her ride down the steps not once, not twice, but thrice! KTLA5 covered that story:
Being a famous monument and all, there were surveillance cameras, and everyone was subsequently caught. According to CNN Travel, the Saudi man was apprehended at an airport in Milan and charged with aggravated damage to cultural heritage and monuments.
“The car caused fractures to the 16th and 29th steps of the right-hand flight rising up from Spanish Square, Rome’s heritage protection body said in a statement.
Some marble fragments were temporarily reattached ‘in order to allow the immediate reopening for pedestrian transit,’ it said.”
He has since been indicted, with his case slated for trial this year, reported the English-language daily, The Italian Insider:
“A Saudi tourist, Fahad Ghazi Hassoubah, who wildly revved a Maserati four wheel drive jeep down the Spanish Steps last May has been ordered to stand trial on charges of running up at least 46,000 euros of restoration costs by damaging the hisoric monument and risks spending five years in prison.”
The thrown e-scooter also caused substantial damage, with repairs estimated at €25,000 (approximately $27,000). The Americans were each fined €400 (about $430), but a formal complaint was filed against the woman, wrote the New York Times at the time:
“Because the woman appeared to intentionally push her scooter down the stairs, a more formal complaint was filed against her for damaging a monument. That offense is punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine of at least €2,000.”
Beyond wheeled vehicles, the iconic landmark has been vandalized and defaced with pens, pencils, paints, and dyes. In the case of the elderly driver, his intent appears to be more “my bad” than malicious.
The New York Times said that the man was uninjured and tested negative for alcohol, but Italian authorities reported him to be in a state of confusion. Misguided navigation? Unfamiliar with the area? Lack of espresso(s)? Whatever brought him to that place at that time, he’ll likely be given a fine. The good news is that, shockingly, no significant damage to the steps has been reported. Yet.
Top graphic image: CBS News via YouTube screen capture
Foot traffic wears out marble pretty quickly too. The steps get replaced about every hundred years. Marble isn’t particularly durable.
And THATS why you get the G-wagon instead. Lesson learned a little too late, I’m afraid.
Thankfully, the Inquisitions were successful in apprehending the offenders.
It appears that it might be too easy to drive down those stairs, either accidentally or on purpose. Perhaps some more bollards would come in handy.
Bollards may be unsightly, but protection of the monument would probably outweigh the aesthetics. It’s terrible how often this happens.
If you did get trapped there, why wouldn’t you at least try to avoid damaging anything?
Apparently, no one expects the Spanish Steps.
Maybe a sign could help prevent these missteps?
Nobody expects the Spanish steps. They have many weapons, fear surprise and other things. (An almost fanatical devotion to the Pope? yes there is that.).
Oh, bugger!