Franco Malosso von Rosenfranz sentenced for fake Roman amphitheater in Vicenza, Italy

For about two decades a structure near Vicenza was promoted as an ancient Roman amphitheater, claimed to date to AD 393 and to have been visited by Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Shakespeare’s Juliet. The site, called the Berico Maritime Amphitheatre, was built by 69‑year‑old Franco Malosso von Rosenfranz, who charged tourists up to €40 per person and even convinced the local municipality to list it in official tourism guides.

Investigations in 2016, aided by satellite imagery and archaeologists, revealed the amphitheater was a modern construction of fiberglass, plaster, cement columns and other artificial materials. Italian gendarmerie and courts deemed the venture illegal. In 2024 von Rosenfranz was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, fined €3,000, and ordered to pay €560,000 in compensation to the Arcugnano municipality.