The young men allegedly painted the letters and numbers “DKS 1860” in black on a total of seven columns within the historical passage and further vandalized its interior. They were identified by police who viewed surveillance camera footage from the area.

According to investigators, the Germans were observed entering a building on Piazza della Signoria shortly after the alleged vandalism. 

Police officers from the Carabinieri entered the building and encountered a total of eleven young men in an apartment, all born between 2002 and 2003. During a search, two cans of spray paint and clothing matching those worn by the suspects in the footage were discovered.

Reports from media outlets suggest that the suspects may be football fans: the inscription “DKS 1860” could refer to the German third-division team, 1860 Munich.

The incident caused significant outrage in Italy on Wednesday. The graffiti on the columns of the Vasari Corridor, one of Italy’s most important cultural landmarks, was discovered early in the morning. Florence’s Mayor, Dario Nardella, expressed his frustration over this “disgraceful act of vandalism.”

Eike Schmidt, the German director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, also strongly condemned the graffiti within the nearly one-kilometre-long passageway.

Designed by Italian architect and painter Giorgio Vasari (1511- 1574), the corridor leads from the Uffizi Gallery over the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the Arno River.

The corridor was constructed to allow the powerful Medici family to travel securely and undisturbed from their private residence to the governmental seat in the Palazzo Vecchio. Within it is a collection of self-portraits by painters from the 14th to the 20th century.