Rome’s monumental Colosseum is one of the planet’s most impressive and recognisable structures, welcoming a staggering 9 million visitors in 2025.
However, given it’s been standing for just shy of 2,000 years, it’s hardly surprising the building needs a little tender love and care to keep it in shape – and a brand new look following an extensive restoration has just been unveiled.
A semicircular piazza which sits just outside the main arena was the focus of the project, and is where, beneath two grand arcades, attendees to the many battles at the Colosseum would have waited to take their seats.
The arcades were made from two 50-metre tall marble columns, and despite those now being long gone, tourists today will be able to sit on large travertine marble slabs where they originally stood, and relive the Colosseum’s imposing scale from the perspective of Roman revellers.
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‘These blocks of travertine marble are placed, located exactly where the pillars, the original pillars were based,’ said designer of the piazza Italian architect Stefano Boeri to the Independent. ‘The idea we had was to give back to the public the perception of the proportion of the arcades and the proportion of the vaults of the arches that were used to enter in the centre of the Colosseum.’
Starting off by digging into where the original travertine paving stones once stood, restorers found coins, statues, animal bones, and a gold ring. Beneath this area is a secret entrance where emperor Commodus used to sneak in to avoid the crowds, and this was opened to the public in 2025.
To amp up the authenticity of this refurbishment, restorers sourced the new travertine slabs from the original ones from the Roman era, and they’ve been inscribed with reproductions of numerals that indicated the arena’s various seat sections.
While these new slabs have been described as ‘too white’ by some critics according to the Daily Mail, chief architect Barbara Nazzaro explained: ‘The paving is laid in such a way it can be removed without damaging the ancient foundations beneath.’
‘If in 50 years we decide we don’t like it anymore, we can take it out. That was really important to us,’ he continued.
Sounds rather fascinating, right? Here’s absolutely everything you need to know about the Colosseum.
📍 Oh, and be sure to check out our collection of the very best things to do in Rome.
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