Con Artist Sentenced for Creating Phony Roman Amphitheater and Charging Tourists £35 to Visit 'World's Oldest' Attraction

AN ITALIAN man charged tourists £35 to see the world’s oldest open-air amphitheatre, near which Juliet Capulet had lived.

The only problem was that the artefacts were crafted in the early 2000s – not before 393AD – out of stuccoed blocks, fibreglass and papier-mâché to look ancient.

Franco Malosso von Rosenfranz built a fake Roman ampitheatre Credit: Getty He claimed his bogus site was the ‘world’s oldest’ Credit: x.com/@vikare06

And ‘s Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, not near the northeastern city of Vicenza.

A self-described “philanthropist, entrepreneur and orchestra conductor”, Franco Malosso von Rosenfranz fooled many – visitors and even the local government.

So much so that the site was included in a tourism promotion guide and app that were funded by the EU, Italian outlet Corriere della Sera previously reported.

Police said he levelled a hill to build his amphitheatre Credit: Google He has been jailed after police uncovered his web of lies Credit: Getty

He claimed to have discovered the area and historical artefacts dating back to the Neolithic, Greek and Roman eras.

His elaborate web of lies did not stop there.

Rosenfranz also told tourists that a range of historical figures had visited the thousand-seat amphitheatre, including Julius Caesar who he claimed had passed through on his return from with Cleopatra.

In promotional material, the fraudster called the amphitheatre “the oldest and largest, among the most spectacular in the world,” local reports said.

After the initial report to the authorities in October 2016, his fraud was eventually found out – but it took years.

Archaeologists were eventually drafted to examine the area.

They concluded there was no ancient structure and that the site had been built recently with artificially aged blocks of modern stones.

The case was dragged through the , but the prosecutor’s case was clear – the supposed exceptional archaeological discovery is completely fake.

Rosenfranz was jailed this week for illegal construction, forgery of works of art, and the production of artefacts without authorisation.

For this, he was sentenced to two years and four months in and a €3,000 fine. He was also ordered to clear the area.

Previously, the Municipality of Arcugnano had also sought €560,000 in damages.