Italy Vacation: Beware The ‘Curse Of Ancient Pompeii’

A tourist who recently visited ancient Pompeii took home small pumice artifacts as a souvenir. However, on arrival home, the tourist fell ill and she sent the director of the Archaeological Park the pieces stolen from the site. Meanwhile, the tourist apologized for stealing the artifacts and wrote that she hoped to recover from the “curse of ancient Pompeii.”

Tourist hit by ‘curse of ancient Pompeii’

Many of us get tempted to take home a souvenir from an iconic archaeological site, but when it comes to Pompeii, it is best not to do so. This is due to the alleged “curse of ancient Pompeii” which strikes tourists who steal from the site.

In the case of the young female tourist who took pieces of pumice stone, she decided to return the pieces to the site accompanied by a note written in English, as follows:

I didn’t know about the curse. I didn’t know that I shouldn’t have taken stones. Within a year I became aware of a breast cancer. I am young and healthy and the doctors say it is just ‘bad luck’. Please accept my apologies and these pieces. I am sorry.

The tourist told the director of the Archaeological Park, Gabriel Zuchtriegel that she hoped she would recover from her sickness.

‘In bocca al lupo’

Zuchtriegel posted a photo of the letter and the three pieces of pumice returned to him by the tourist on X/Twitter. He added a message:

Dear anonymous sender of this letter… the pumice stones have arrived in Pompeii… now good luck for your future & in bocca al lupo [good luck], as we say in Italy.

Dear anonymous sender of this letter … the pumice stones arrived in Pompeii… now good luck for your future & in bocca al lupo, as we say in Italy pic.twitter.com/vaYlqUudke

— Gabriel Zuchtriegel (@GZuchtriegel) January 9, 2024

 

Other victims of the ‘curse’

While most people would disbelieve stories of curses, this isn’t the first time that a tourist has sent back artifacts stolen from Pompeii. Reportedly, dozens of parcels have been received in Italy, accompanied by letters of apology. In each case, the repentant tourist apologized and recounted the problems experienced by them as a result of the “curse.”

According to Euro Weekly News, one of the people affected was a Canadian tourist who visited the site in 2005. She went on to blame the curse for several misfortunes she suffered in the following years. In her letter, the tourist noted that she wanted to have a piece of history that “no one could have.” However, she said the relics had “so much negative energy attached to that land of destruction.”

Moreover, in 1987, there was a case of a statue that was stolen from Pompeii and returned by a Spanish tourist. In the accompanying letter, the sender claimed that the stolen statue had put a “curse” on his whole family.

Always stay on the side of caution and history when visiting an iconic archaeological site like Pompeii. While you might not find yourself cursed, just imagine what would happen if every visitor took a piece of the past for their own.