Devin McIntosh of the London-based parkour group was attempting to jump from one rooftop toward another building's facade when some of the stone broke off, sending him to the ground with a hurt ankle.
Team Phat/InstagramIn this still from Team Phat’s Instagram account, parkour runner Devin McIntosh can be seen knocking a stone off an old building in Matera.
Parkour, the freerunning sport that involves leaping from one place to another, is only a few decades old. The city of Matera, Italy, has a history that dates back some 10,000 years. But the two recently collided when a parkour group came to Matera to perform their stunts — and ended up damaging an historic building.
It’s not the first time that the parkour group “Team Phat” has gotten into trouble for disrespecting historical sites, and videos of the incident provoked widespread outrage online.
How Parkour Runner Devin McIntosh Damaged A Building In Matera
Pava/Wikimedia CommonsMatera, Italy, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
In April 2024, London-based Team Phat posted a video that showed them performing stunts across Matera. At one point, the team considers an old stone building as their next site. Someone off camera can be heard saying to team member Devon McIntosh that he can probably launch himself off a stone protruding from the building’s side.
“It’s stable enough that you can just hang on it, but I’m scared it could just break,” the voice says, telling McIntosh, “You’re a bit lighter than me, so it might be more of a you challenge… Get ready to jump.”
At first, McIntosh and two other traceurs — the official term for people who practice parkour — successfully launch themselves off the stone and onto a nearby rooftop. But when McIntosh tries the jump a second time, the stone breaks — and it and McIntosh tumble down to the cobblestones below.
“We were really trusting that thing too much,” McIntosh says. He adds that he hurt his ankle, and shows injuries on his thigh and elbow to the camera.
Team Phat/InstagramDevin McIntosh and the stone fell to the ground after McIntosh and other traceurs leapt on it several times.
Then, someone behind the camera exclaims: “Hide the evidence.”
The clip of McIntosh’s stunt has drawn almost 5 million views on Instagram (see below), as of publication. It’s also drawn widespread condemnation from commenters around the world.
A Pattern Of Harmful Tourist Behavior In Italy
As videos of Team Phat’s stunt in Matera spread online, a number of people posted angry comments about how they’d damaged the building — then tried to hide the evidence and flee the scene.
“I love you guys, but it was really wrong to break that rock that likely had a lot of history and pride for the owners and original builders,” someone wrote on Instagram. On YouTube, someone else commented: “I really like you lot. But it’s depressing that you break people’s houses, hide the evidence & run away. You should pay for that.”
In fact, it’s not the first time that Team Phat has gotten in trouble for practicing parkour at historic sites. A year ago, in March 2023, Team Phat claimed responsibility after a man leapt from a building and into one of Venice’s famous canals. The mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, condemned him for his “STUPIDITY” and Team Phat was banned from returning to Venice.
LuigiBrugnaro/XAfter a man jumped into one of Venice’s canals, the mayor called out his “stupidity” and Team Phat was banned from the historic Italian city.
Other cities in Italy have also grappled with bad behavior by tourists. In 2023, a tourist was reprimanded for carving his name into the Colosseum in Rome. The year before, a tourist smashed two Roman statues in the Vatican after being denied a visit with the Pope.
For now, the extent of the damage to the building in Matera is unknown. A spokesman for Matera’s mayor told the Washington Post that city officials were “aware of the issue” and that “technicians are checking the building, so actions will be taken based on their reports.”
After reading about the parkour group that damaged a building in Matera, Italy, discover the stories of some of the world’s oldest structures and the history behind them. Then, learn the tragic story of Pavel Kashin, the parkour stuntman who died after attempting a backflip on a 16-story building.
