Man arrested for damaging Thessaloniki’s Rotunda

A 28-year-old man has been arrested for unspecified damages to the interior of the Rotunda, an important monument in the city of Thessaloniki, police say.

The man was arrested around noon Saturday. He is said to have mental issues and authorities are to decide whether he will be evaluated at a psychiatric hospital.

The Rotunda, along with the nearby Arch, were part of a monumental project built by the Roman Emperor Galerius (r. 305-311) in the early 4th century AD (306). It was destined as a mausoleum for Galerius, but never became one; it was instead converted into a church, the city’s oldest surviving one, and then into a mosque. It now serves as a museum, and, occasionally, as a church.

Source: ekathimerini.com