義大利維琴察（Vicenza）一名男子法蘭科·馬洛索（Franco Malosso）因偽造羅馬競技場遺址、向觀光客收費參觀長達二十年，被判處兩年四個月有期徒刑。他自稱於 2005 年在山崩後發現這座「世界最古老競技場之一」，並編造凱撒大帝（Julius Caesar）與朱麗葉曾在此留跡的故事。調查卻發現，整座遺址由玻璃纖維、紙漿柱與石膏雕像構成，建於 2000 年代初，是他自己蓋的。
他說茱麗葉住在這裡、凱撒來過這裡，但考古學家只找到 2000 年代的灰泥與假石材：義大利男子親手蓋的「羅馬競技場」，騙了觀光客二十年
一座「古蹟」，從一座夷平的山丘開始
2005 年，義大利東北部城市維琴察郊區，一名男子向外界宣布：他在山崩後發現了一處隱沒已久的羅馬競技場遺址，命名為「貝里科海事競技場」（Berico Maritime Amphitheatre），距今約一千六百年，建於西元 393 年。
他說，凱撒大帝曾在此歇腳，莎士比亞筆下的茱麗葉也曾住在遺址旁的古老教堂裡。
這名男子叫法蘭科·馬洛索（Franco Malosso），自稱「馮·羅森弗朗茲」（von Rosenfranz），時年 49 歲，頭銜是「慈善家、企業家暨管樂團指揮」。他向每位到訪的觀光客收取 40 歐元（約新台幣 1,400 元）的入場費，並成功說服地方政府將遺址納入歐盟補助的官方觀光指南與線上導覽 App。
衛星圖像後來呈現了另一個版本的故事：2005 年之前，那裡是一座完整的山丘。馬洛索先將山頭剷平，再在空地上建造了這座「古蹟」。
考古學家拆穿了什麼
2016 年，疑點開始浮現。義大利憲兵隊（Carabinieri）介入調查，委派考古學家進行實地鑑定。結果顯示，遺址的結構材料包含玻璃纖維、紙漿製成的仿石柱、批土砌塊與石膏雕像，全數製造於 2000 年代初期。
歷史考證同樣讓整套說詞不攻自破。凱撒大帝生於西元前 100 年，死於西元前 44 年，比遺址「建造年份」西元 393 年早了將近四百年；兩人根本不可能在同一個時空出現。至於朱麗葉，作為莎士比亞虛構的文學人物，她的故事舞台向來是維羅納（Verona），距維琴察約 50 公里，與馬洛索的遺址毫無關聯。
偽造的不只是建築，是整套歷史詮釋系統
馬洛索的手法之所以奏效長達十年，在於他不只蓋了一棟建築，而是建構了一整套敘事。凱撒、朱麗葉、山崩發現——每一個元素都呼應了大眾對義大利古典文明的既有想像，降低了質疑的門檻。加上遺址確實進入了官方管道，對一般觀光客而言，行政背書往往等同於真實性的認證。
文化遺產的信任基礎，正是建立在這種默許之上。觀光客不會帶著碳定年設備去旅遊，地方政府也不必然具備考古鑑定能力。詐騙者利用的，是知識落差與制度信任之間的空白地帶。
判決與後續
法院以非法建築、藝術偽造及未經授權建造等罪名，判處馬洛索兩年四個月有期徒刑，並處罰款 3,000 歐元。阿爾庫尼亞諾市議會（Arcugnano council）另外提出 56 萬歐元的民事損害賠償，要求追討因這場騙局造成的行政與財務損失。
那座競技場依然佇立在維琴察郊區，玻璃纖維與石膏靜靜等待最終的處置決定。它既不是羅馬遺址，也不是藝術裝置，只是一個關於人們多麼渴望相信歷史的旁證。
A man has been jailed in Italy for fraud after charging tourists €40 to visit a fake Roman amphitheatre he built himself twenty years ago.
Franco Malosso 'von Rosenfranz', 69, claimed to have discovered the site, known as the Berico Maritime Amphitheatre in the north-eastern city of Vicenza, after a landslide in 2005.
According to Italy's Correiere della Sera, Malosso told visitors the site was one of the world’s "oldest and largest amphitheatres" and dated back to AD 393.
He claimed that Julius Caesar had visited it on his return to Rome from Egypt with Cleopatra, and that Shakespeare’s famous ficitional character Juliet Capulet had lived in an old church there.
In addition, Malosso described himself as a "philantropist, entrepreneur and orchestra conductor" and managed to persuade local authorities to include the in Vicenza's EU-funded tourism guide and online app.
Historical claims contradicted by the facts
But suspicions about his far-fetched tale began to emerge in 2016. Archaeologists called in to investigate by Italy’s Carabinieri military police discovered the "ancient" structure contained fibreglass, papier-mâché columns, rendered blocks and plaster statues dating from the early 2000s.
Satellite images also showed that Malosso had first levelled a hill and then built the bogus ancient monument on the cleared area.
Other historical detective work determined that Italy's most famous ancient ruler Julius Caesar lived around 400 years before the date on which the building was supposedly constructed. Furthermore, as most English literature students will attest, the setting associated Shakespeare's romantic tragedy is not Vicenza but Verona.
Crime and punishment
Malosso has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison for illegal construction, art forgery and creating works without authorisation. He's also been fined €3,000.
Meanwhile, Arcugnano council has filed a €560,000-euro damages claim against him to recoup the losses it says it suffered.