Status: 16.01.2024, 14:24 PM
By: Martina Lippl
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If you visit Pompeii (Italy) (here the colonnade and the sculptures of the Temple of Apollo) you should not take anything with you. © Elisabeth Knöbl-Zahn/imago
Out of remorse, a woman sent a desperate letter to Pompeii. In her letter, the young tourist makes a confession and returns stolen artifacts.
Rome – Forbidden souvenirs from Pompeii (Italy) apparently did not bring happiness to a young woman. During a visit to the city, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption, she pocketed small pumice stones. Since then, a curse has weighed on her, she believes.
"Didn't know about the curse" – Tourist sends desperate letter to Pompeii
Anonymously and with a handwritten letter in English, the young tourist wants to free herself from the curse. In an envelope, she sent the three pumice stones back to the archaeological park of Pompeii with an apology.
"I didn't know about the curse. I didn't know that I shouldn't have taken the stones. Within a year, I was diagnosed with cancer. I'm young and healthy, and the doctors say it's just 'bad luck'. Please accept my apologies and these pieces. I'm sorry," the woman wrote.
Pompeii director responds promptly to anonymous letter
On platform X, the director of the archaeological park of Pompeii promptly published his response: "Dear anonymous sender of this letter ... the pumice stones have arrived in Pompeii ... good luck for your future and 'in bocca al lupo', as we say in Italy," wrote Gabriel Zuchtriegel. The Italian phrase "in bocca als lupo" (in German: in the mouth of the wolf) can be roughly translated as "I keep my fingers crossed for you" or "broken neck and leg". He also published a photo of the letter and the pumice stones.
"Curse of Pompeii" – Young tourist sends back illegal finds from the city destroyed by the volcanic eruption. © Screenshot X/Gzuchtriegel
"The Curse of Pompeii" – Tourist returns stolen rock
It is not the first case. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is arguably the most famous volcanic eruption in history. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed. Visitors to Pompeii often can't resist the temptation and steal artifacts from the 44-hectare excavation site.
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For example, after 15 years, a Canadian woman sent back two stolen mosaic tiles, some pieces of an amphora and ceramics. She was suffering from breast cancer and her family was in financial difficulties. "I took away a piece of history that absorbed so much negative energy in its time," she wrote at the time. "People were dying in such horrible ways, and I took shards that had come into contact with this kind of destruction."
The volcanic eruption in 79 killed 2,000 people. Lava and ash destroyed settlements. The last moments of life are buried under the catastrophe. Since their rediscovery in the 19th century, archaeologists have uncovered sensational finds. Researchers have come across the skeleton of a man who died in the eruption of Mount Vesus. A fresco in Pompeii, with what is probably the oldest pizza, astonished even the researchers.
Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii was considered a punishment from the gods: people "want" to believe in it
The downfall of the city by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was seen in ancient times as a punishment from the gods. Superstition persists to this day. Family, personal dramas are associated with the theft in Pompeii.
In the comments to the post on platform X, one user put it in a nutshell: "People just *want* to believe in supernatural things. A lot of people get cancer without stealing anything, you know?" And he goes on to explain: "If B occurs after A, it doesn't mean that B was caused by A (correlation is not causation) Don't believe in curses! But also: Don't steal!"
It is not only at excavation sites that it is taboo to take things with you. Even on a beach holiday in Italy, holidaymakers should be careful. (ml)