Tourists spotted inside Rome monument by passerby.

Rome police fined two young American tourists €800 for illegally entering the Colosseum in the early hours of Monday morning.

The alarm was raised after the pair were spotted at dawn by a passerby as they sat drinking beer on the second level of the amphitheatre.

Carabinieri tracked down the tourists, aged 24 and 25, on nearby Via dei Fori Imperiali, according to local media.

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The men admitted they had broken into the Colosseum, reportedly in order to experience the thrill of having a beer inside the world-famous monument.

There were no reports of any damage caused to the ancient landmark.