Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

A Man Built a Fake Ancient Theater in Italy and Charged Tourists to See It

The attraction was built with modern materials, but visitors were told it dated to antiquity and had ties to Caesar, Cleopatra and Juliet.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

If you’ve ever visited a tourist hotspot abroad and wondered whether the legend attached to it might be a lie, Italy has a cautionary tale that will reinforce your skepticism.

According to CNN, one man spent years convincing tourists that a hillside near Arcugnano was home to an ancient Greek or Roman theater. It wasn’t. He built the whole thing himself and then sold tickets to a legend of his own invention.

Franco Malosso claimed he discovered the roughly 54,000-square-foot site after a landslide. He charged visitors up to €40 to see its marvelous, ancient stone seating,........

© Vice