Paralympian athlete and climber Moreno Pesce made the shocking discovery while training in the Dolomites in Northern Italy.
Tourists go home’ was scrawled on the rock alongside the prehistoric footprints which are more than 220 million years old – sparking outrage in the country. In a video posted on Facebook the athlete can be seen shaking his head as he showed his findings.
Mr Pesce said: “It was not a nice awakening for the Tre Cime”. The vandalism took place between the Auronzo and Lavaredo mountains that are home to some of the most popular hikes in Italy.
The dinosaur footprints were discovered in 1992 and are believed to have been moulded during the Triassic period – between 250 and 200 million years ago. During the summer, around four million tourists venture to the scenic mountain range every year.Italians commented on Mr Pesce’s Facebook video in disgust at the graffiti scrawled on the rock. One said: “I have no words”. While another added: “Idiots are everywhere”.It follows a wave of anti-tourism protests across Europe this summer which have become particularly prevalent at British holiday hotspots across Spain. Earlier this month in Ibiza, 1,000 protesters took to the street calling for more restrictions on tourism to the island, as locals argue that the transformation of Ibiza into a “luxury destination” was causing serious socio-economic problems for residents.The march was organised by major anti-tourism platform Caviem el Rumb, which has been carrying out demonstrations throughout the summer in the Spanish holiday hotspot. In July, up to 50,000 locals descended onto the streets of the Majorcan capital Palma. The anti-tourism protests then took a sinister turn when graffiti saying ‘kill a tourist’ was spotted in the town of Manacor.
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