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Visits continue by popular demand in January 2023: Saturday 14, Saturday 21 and Saturday 28

The Parco archeologico del Colosseo resumes from Friday the 20th of May 2022 the night tours of the Flavian Amphitheatre, in collaboration with Electa and Coopculture.

For this 2022 edition of “The Moon over the Colosseum” a new route has been developed. The guided tour covers both the best known history of the monument, that of the Amphitheatre in ancient Rome told through the floor of the arena and the underground levels, and the Christian history starting from the 17th century wall painting depicting an ideal view of the city of Jerusalem: the great novelty of this year’s itinerary.

The itinerary passes through the tunnels and passages where the preparations for the spectacles took place, where the stage materials were stored and where the animals, enclosed in cages, were then loaded onto hoists to reach the arena floor for the venationes, the famous hunting scenes. The arena was also the scene of gladiator fights. Crossing a footbridge of more than 160 metres, the innards of the monument will no longer hold any secrets and, as night falls, one can fully relive the atmosphere that enveloped those spaces.

The video installation “The painting of Jerusalem”

The tour includes for the first time a multimedia reading of the painting depicting an ideal view – from a bird’s eye view – of the city of Jerusalem, placed on the bottom arch of the western archway, the so-called Triumphal Gate: the same through which the gladiators and the beasts that faced each other in the arena entered. Lasting 7 minutes, the video projections, conceived and curated by the Parco archeologico del Colosseo and realised by Karmachina with Electa, occupy the space of the two lunettes of the western archway: on one side a selection of 22 scenes depicted in the painting, placed 8 metres above the ground, on the other the engraving with the same iconography by Antonio Tempesta from 1601. The immersive narration, favoured by the dim evening light, allows the Old and New Testament narratives contained in the painting to come into focus: the events of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus with the crosses representing the Gòlgota; the comet foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, below which parade figures of prophets, and where the adoration of Moloch and the martyrdom of Isaiah are recognisable. The painting reminds us that the Colosseum continued to thrive even after the end of the Roman Empire. In particular, in 1750 at the behest of Pope Benedict XIV it became the site of the now traditional Way of the Cross, in order to reinforce the sense of the historical mission of the papacy. The visit continues past one of the aedicules of the Way of the Cross and the cross, both located around the perimeter of the arena. Here the itinerary ends with an extraordinary view of the complex structure of the underground and the vastness of the cavea terraces, carved out by the shadows of the night and hosting over 60 thousand spectators.

 

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TERMS OF VISIT

Reservation required for a maximum of 25 people per tour.

www.coopculture.it / +39 06.39967700 (call centre open Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm)

 

Where: Rome, Colosseum

Who: Individuals, groups, adults, young people

When: from 20th May 2022 to 28th January 2023

in May 2022, every Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.

from June to October 2022, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. until 10.30 p.m.

in November and December 2022 and January 2023 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. until 10.00 p.m.

Saturday 14, Saturday 21 and Saturday 28 January 2023 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.

Visits are suspended on 24 December and 31 December 2022

Theme: Ancient history and archaeology

Duration: 60′

Number of participants: 25

 


Costs:

€ 25,00 full price

€ 22,00 reduced (groups/whole slot with fixed price/adults under 25/ Membership Card holders)

€ 20,00 young people under 25

Free for children under 6 and guide (only if accompanying group)

The guided tour rates include the booking fee.

Rates remain unchanged for those who purchase the ticket on the day.

The night tour is dedicated to the itinerary of the underground levels, specially illuminated to make the journey into the heart of the gladiator entertainment machine even more exciting.

The itinerary includes the following steps:

  • entrance from the Valadier gate on the square and welcome/departure from the North archway, once the main entrance of the emperors
  • stop at the entrance to the Porta Libitinaria to tell the story of the topography of the Colosseum valley
  • descent into the underground levels and story of their construction and operation
  • stop at the Fosso Labicano to learn more about the structure of the corridors and the so-called Darsene of the eastern manoeuvring chamber
  • the hoists and lifts
  • moonlight walk along the new walkway through the perimeter and straight corridors to the western manoeuvring chamber
  • ascent up the stairs under the Triumphal Gate and multimedia installation “The Painting of Jerusalem”
  • walk along the so-called “service gallery” and passage in front of the Aedicule of the Way of the Cross and Cross to learn about the post-ancient history and the rediscovery of the underground area from the 19th century onwards
  • Arena level and account of the shows that took place here during the games offered by the emperors