The Parco archeologico del Colosseo has organized six themed paths that visitors are free to follow in complete autonomy, all covered by the standard cost of the entry ticket.
Parco archeologico del Colosseo still preserves tangible traces of Nero’s architectural vision and urban policy. In an original double interview, we retrace the phases of the construction of the “new Rome” that Nero would have wanted to refound during his principality. The route unfolds in six stages from the Palatine (Neronian Cryptoporticus, Domus Transitoria/’Baths of Livia’, coenatio rotunda), to the valley of the Colosseum up to the Oppian Hill, reaching sites recently reopened to the public and made even more exciting with the support of technology.
“Medicina XXXIII” was inspired by a reflection on the goddess Febris, and invites visitors to discover the traces of a district linked to the practice of the ars medica in the valley of the Roman Forum. The itinerary starts at the Church of Santa Francesca Romana, dedicated to the saint who cured the sick, and proceeds through the Horrea Piperataria and the physician Galen’s laboratory, leading up to the Spring of Juturna, source of miraculous healing waters.
In occasion of Dantedì (“Dante Day”), Wednesday 25 March, the “Nel mezzo del cammin” path was presented to the public: 15 stops between the Roman Forum, the Palatine and the Imperial Forums accompanied by verses from the Divine Comedy, in which Dante represents historical figures or deities whose memory is linked to central archeological area’s monumental remains. The Dante-themed tour, which allows visitors to rediscover the history of the PArCo from its origins up to the imperial age, was also designed to be enjoyed online, thanks to the collaboration of the actors Massimo Ghini, Giuseppe Cederna, Giandomenico Cupaiuolo and Rosa Diletta Rossi, who accompany viewers in 12 videos with readings of selected passages from the three canticles.
Goddesses, mothers, priestesses – and not only: starting from 8 March 2020, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the park will host the “Stories of Women in the Park” itinerary for eight weeks. The itinerary is dedicated to the discovery of 8 female figures whose memory is linked to monuments and artifacts that can be visited between the Palatine, the Forum valley and the Colosseum.
Open on site and online, the three previous paths were celebrated with dedicated marathons across the @parcocolosseo social media accounts and join the two permanent itineraries inaugurated in 2018: the two paths —equipped with their own dedicated guide— wind mainly through the valley of the Forum and along the southern slopes of the Palatine, respectively.
What great panorama lay before the great travelers of the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries once they’d arrived at the Arch of Titus, the Campo Vaccino or the Colosseum? Visitors can find the answer to this question following the various points of interest spread throughout the area, each of which is marked by a special panel that suggests the “views” enjoyed by travelers on the “Grand Tour”.
For a journey through time and space, visitors can take the path that travels from the Severan Arcades to the Huts of Romulus, where the city was founded, and then on to the Forum at the Horrea Agrippiana. An archeo-historical itinerary but also a botanical one where blossoming flowers and herbs, sturdy shrubs and stands of trees provide a one-of-a-kind backdrop with their bouquet of colors and fragrances.
