In Bruges? Don't steal the cobblestones, locals say
But one thing the flick does not have is people stealing the city's famous cobblestones, which were made from porphyry quarried from Wallonia, a rock prized for its durability.
According to city alderman Franky Demon, light-fingered visitors are helping themselves to at least 50 of the cobblestones every month, apparently to take home as souvenirs.
"At iconic sites such as the Minnewater, the Vismarkt, the Markt and the Gruuthusemuseum, an estimated 50 to 70 cobblestones disappear every month and the true figure may be even higher still," Demon told Belga, the national press agency.
The number of stolen stones probably increases during the summer as visitor numbers soar, according to the official.
Not only does yanking the stones out of the ground undermine the city centre's renowned aesthetic, it leaves pedestrians vulnerable to taking a tumble, particularly elderly walkers who can be frail or less nimble than others.
"Anyone that walks through Bruges is walking through centuries of history," Demon said, exhorting would-be thieves to "leave the cobblestones where they belong."
But perhaps it is not such a surprise that Bruges would be the setting for such acquisitiveness: after all, it was the home town of Doctor Evil from the Austin Powers film series, a character who described himself as the son of a "relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
US Man Who Faked Death Before Scottish Hospital Exposed Him Guilty of Rape
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Rhode Island man who fled the U.S. and faked his own death before adopting different aliases until he was finally exposed by staff in a Scottish hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic was found guilty of rape in Utah. Nicholas Rossi, 38, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, was convicted by a jury in Salt Lake County on Wednesday, August 13, of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in 2008. The trial lasted three days. He will be sentenced on October 20. First-degree felony rape carries a punishment in Utah of five years to life in prison, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. "We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place," Gill said in a statement Wednesday night. "We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable." The trials are the final chapter in a bizarre saga involving Rossi. Utah authorities began searching for Rossi when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018. He was among thousands of rape suspects identified and later charged when the state made a push to clear its rape kit backlog. Months after he was charged in Utah County, an online obituary claimed Rossi had died on February 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead. He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for COVID-19 after hospital staff in Glasgow recognized his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice. Rossi was extradited to Utah in January 2024 while insisting he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed. Investigators say they identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture. He appeared in court this week in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and tie, and using an oxygen tank. This is a developing article. Updates to follow. This story uses reporting by The Associated Press.
3 hours ago
Man accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is found guilty of sexual assault in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY -- A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges was found guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand. The verdict came hours after Rossi, 38, declined to testify on his own behalf. He will be sentenced in the case on Oct. 20 and is set to stand trial in September for another rape charge in Utah County. First-degree felony rape carries a punishment in Utah of five years to life in prison, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. 'We are grateful to the survivor in this case for her willingness to come forward, years after this attack took place,' Gill said in a statement Wednesday night. 'We appreciate her patience as we worked to bring the defendant back to Salt Lake County so that this trial could take place and she could get justice. It took courage and bravery to take the stand and confront her attacker to hold him accountable.' Utah authorities began searching for Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, when he was identified through a decade-old DNA rape kit in 2018. He was among thousands of rape suspects identified and later charged when the state made a push to clear its rape kit backlog. Months after he was charged in Utah County, an online obituary claimed Rossi had died on Feb. 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead. He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for COVID-19 after hospital staff in Glasgow recognized his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice. Rossi was extradited to Utah in January 2024 while insisting he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed. Investigators say they identified at least a dozen aliases Rossi used over the years to evade capture. He appeared in court this week in a wheelchair, wearing a suit and tie and using an oxygen tank. Throughout the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of an intelligent man who used his charm to take advantage of a vulnerable young woman. She was living with her parents and recovering from a traumatic brain injury when she responded to a personal ad Rossi posted on Craigslist. They began dating and were engaged within about two weeks. On Monday, the woman described being asked to pay for their dates, cover Rossi's car repairs, lend him $1,000 so he wouldn't be evicted from his apartment and take on debt to buy their engagement rings. He grew hostile soon after their engagement and raped her in his bedroom one night after she drove him home, she testified. The woman said dismissive comments from her parents convinced her not to go to the police at the time. She came forward a decade later after she saw him in the news and learned he was accused of another rape from the same year. Rossi's lawyers sought to convince the jury that his accuser built up years of resentment after he made her foot the bill for everything in their monthlong relationship. They argued she accused him of rape to get back at him years later when he was getting media attention. Attorneys for Rossi did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment after the verdict Wednesday night. Rossi's accuser in the Utah County case did, however, go to the police at the time. She took the stand Tuesday to testify about her own experiences with Rossi — though he will not stand trial for that rape charge until next month. Rossi is accused of attacking the second woman, another former girlfriend, at his apartment in Orem in September 2008 after she came over to collect money she said he stole from her to buy a computer. When police initially interviewed Rossi, he claimed she had raped him and threatened to have him killed. Rossi grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned there before allegedly faking his death. He was previously wanted in the state for failing to register as a sex offender. The FBI has said he also faces fraud charges in Ohio, where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
US fugitive Nicholas Rossi accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is found guilty of sexual assault in Utah
A Rhode Island man accused of faking his death and fleeing the United States to evade rape charges was found guilty Wednesday of sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in his first of two Utah trials. A jury in Salt Lake County found Nicholas Rossi guilty of a 2008 rape after a three-day trial in which his accuser and her parents took the stand. 3 Nicholas Rossi appears at a jury trial in Salt Lake City, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. AP Advertisement The verdict came hours after Rossi, 38, declined to testify on his own behalf. He will be sentenced in the case on Oct. 20 and is set to stand trial in September for another rape charge in Utah County. An obituary published online claimed Rossi had died on Feb. 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Advertisement But police in his home state of Rhode Island, along with his former lawyer and a former foster family, cast doubt on whether he was dead. He was arrested in Scotland the following year while receiving treatment for COVID-19 after hospital staff in Glasgow recognized his distinctive tattoos from an Interpol notice. 3 Rossi leaves the Edinburgh Sheriff and Justice Of The Peace Court after an extradition hearing in Edinburgh on July 12, 2022. AP 3 Rossi is accused of faking his death and fleeing to Europe to avoid rape charges. Pawtucket Police Department Advertisement He was extradited to Utah in January 2024 after losing an extradition appeal in which he claimed he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was being framed.
