A Japanese tourist has died after falling from one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome.
Local media has reported the 69-year-old fell about seven metres to the ground from the perimeter wall of the Pantheon in the city centre, at on Friday.
Newspaper la Repubblica said emergency services and firefighters arrived on the scene after a passing priest spotted him lying on the ground and alerted authorities.
The paper obtained images from the Pantheon’s CCTV and cameras from a cosmetics shop overlooking where the incident took place.
It said they showed the man sitting on a parapet alone, before losing his balance and falling into the Pantheon’s passageway.
Emergency services arrived and had to force open a gate, before finding the man dead in a ditch.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the death.
Rome has seen an increase in the number of tourists visiting in recent years, especially since the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Over 22 million visited the iconic city last year.
The Pantheon is one of its main attractions. In 2019 it registered almost nine million visitors, making it the most visited Italian state museum site.
In 2023, tourists began being charged to enter the site – which was previously free to visit.
