A Canadian tourist who stole two pieces of a mosaic, part of an amphora and a piece of pottery in Pompeii, Italy 15 years ago, has now sent back “souvenirs” with an apology letter claiming that the items are “cursed.”
A woman who signed only as Nicole visited the ruins of Pompeii in 2005, when she was just over 20 years old. She allegedly stole the artifacts because she wanted a piece of history that no one else has. But now she believes that it is these items that are to blame for the wave of bad luck and misery that has plagued her ever since – including breast cancer, which has hit her twice already, and financial hardship, The Guardian reported.
“There is so much negative energy in them associated with the place full of destruction – please put them back, they bring bad luck,” she wrote in a letter she sent to a local travel agency.
Pompeii was covered with volcanic ash during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The place is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Italy and for years has been facing the problem of visitors longing for an illegally obtained souvenir.
Nicole’s package also contained another apology letter from a Canadian couple who, like her, decided to return some of the stones he had taken from Pompeii in 2005.
“We took them without thinking about the pain and suffering that those poor souls experienced during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the threatening death,” the couple wrote. “We are sorry, please forgive us for our terrible decision. May their souls rest in peace.”
Over the years, so many stolen artifacts have returned to Pompeii, along with letters of apology, that the administration of the monument has decided to create a museum to exhibit these objects.
You might be interested in: A poor man from Pompeii
In Pompeii, they found the skeleton of a man who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 BC Apparently, he did not manage to escape due to a sick leg and a block fell on him. | Video: Asociated Press
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