The man kept selling ‘fake history’ for 10 years! Fake Roman theater built, thousands of rupees collected from tourists, then exposed like this

New Delhi. A shocking case that has come to light from Italy has shocked history enthusiasts around the world. Here a person allegedly prepared a fake Roman amphitheater (open-air theater) and misled the tourists for years by calling it an ancient historical heritage. Seeing the stone-looking pillars, broken stairs, statues and artificial lake, people considered it to be a centuries-old archaeological site. But the entire truth came out during the investigation by experts.

The whole story was fabricated by claiming to be a researcher

According to a report by British newspaper The Mirror, 69-year-old Franco Maloso, who calls himself ‘von Rosenfranz’ and lives near the Italian city of Vicenza, claimed to have discovered the world’s oldest open Roman amphitheater. He created a set in a mountainous area that at first glance looked like the remains of an ancient Roman civilization.

Entry fee was collected from every tourist

Franco used to charge an entry fee of 35 pounds (about 4 thousand rupees) from the tourists coming to see this so-called historical site. After this, while giving a tour of the entire complex, he would claim that this site was even before the year 393 AD and important events of the Roman Empire used to take place here. After hearing his story, most of the tourists believed him without any doubt.

Added to Julius Caesar and Juliet

To impress the tourists, he also included the names of many famous historical and literary characters in his story. He claimed that Roman emperor Julius Caesar used to visit this place. Not only this, he also said that Juliet Capulet, the heroine of the famous love story ‘Romeo and Juliet’, had spent her childhood in this area. These claims further increased people’s curiosity about this place.

Administration also accepted it as real heritage

Franco boosted his credibility by describing himself as a philanthropist, businessman and orchestra conductor. The local administration also believed his words. Not only this, this so-called historical site was also included in a tourism app funded by the European Union, due to which the number of tourists coming here continued to increase.

Illusion woven from the story of landslide

He used to tell people that this ancient site came out from under the ground after a landslide in the year 2005. According to him, remains of Neolithic period, Greek and Roman civilization were found here. Based on this story, he promoted the entire site as a historical discovery.

The truth came out in the investigation by experts

In the year 2016, the police started investigating the case. When the team of archaeological experts inspected the site, it was found that none of the structures present there were ancient. Investigation revealed that the pillars, sculptures and other structures were made of fibreglass, papier mache and modern construction materials. The artificial lake was also not natural and the entire area was leveled to make it look like an ancient Roman theatre.

Even after being caught he kept making new claims

Even after investigation, instead of changing his views, Franco started making new claims. He wrote in a blog that the mafia had killed many people to capture this amphitheater and the same mafia attacked him, in which he got injured and his son went missing. Earlier he had also claimed that the site was renovated in the 1870s and again in the 1980s.

Court sentenced

After nearly a decade of investigation and legal process, the court convicted Franco Maloso. The charges of illegal construction, creating fake archaeological structures and misleading the people were proved. The court sentenced him to two years and four months in jail, a fine of 3 thousand euros and ordered him to remove all fake construction from the entire premises.

What does this case teach?

This incident shows that attractive stories and confidently made claims can easily mislead people. Even in subjects like history, culture and archaeology, it is necessary to authenticate and officially confirm any claim before accepting it as true. This case of Italy has become a big example of the fact that no matter how strong a lie is fabricated, the truth eventually comes out before investigation.