A tourist has been charged with a crime against "cultural heritage" after allegedly spray-painting a historic building in Granada. The visitor from the Basque Country is accused of graffitiing the word "Paula" in pink and blue on a building in Albaicín.
Granada's local police confirmed that a tourist vandalised the Aljibe del Zenete with graffiti on Friday. The Aljibe del Zenete is a 16th-century Mudéjar-style water cistern in the historic Albaicín neighbourhood, which has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1994.
The perpetrator was reported to the court for a crime against cultural heritage. The arrested tourist could face a fine from €3,000 to up to €30,050.
In 2024, a British tourist faced a significant fine from Italian authorities after carving his family's initials onto a wall in Pompeii, also a Unesco World Heritage Site. Italy approved tougher fines in January 2024 for damaging historical sites, with penalties now ranging from €15,000 to €60,000 for cleaning and repair.