Italy’s Colosseum welcomes record two million visitors this summer

New visitor experiences and lure of Ancient Rome draws 25,000 people a day to the Colosseum.

Rome’s Colosseum archaeological park, which in addition to the ancient amphitheatre includes the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Domus Aurea, welcomed a record two million visitors this summer.

Between June and August more than 2.2 million tickets were purchased for the Parco archeologico del Colosseo, an increase of 16 per cent (up from 1.9 million) compared to the same period in 2019.

The average number of daily visitors this summer was 25,000, numbers described by Italy’s culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano as “beyond all expectations”.

The archaeological park, under the dynamic leadership of director Alfonsina Russo, has carried out extensive renovations and progressively opened up previously inaccessible areas, with two major long-term projects coming to fruition over the summer.

At the end of May the Colosseum unveiled a glass elevator to make the site more accessible for people with mobility difficulties as well as offering panoramic views over the Rome landmark.

The occasion was marked by the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema performing music by Hans Zimmer from the soundtrack to The Gladiator movie whose star Russell Crowe congratulated those behind the project with a recorded telephone message played during the inauguration.

Last week the Domus Tiberiana imperial palace on the Palatine Hill reopened to the public following a massive restoration to shore up the ancient site which was closed in the 1970s due to serious structural problems triggered by excavations in the early 20th century.

The reopening of the imposing arched building, with its new museum spaces, restores an important link between the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, with visitor access from the Farnese Gardens and the ramp of Domitian.

“The Colosseum confirms itself as the most important and visited archaeological and museum site in Italy and among the most important at an international level” – Sangiuliano stated – “There is a rediscovery of the Roman world also thanks to cinematographic works, television series, studies and historical novels which has a positive impact on visits to this monument.”

Paying tribute to the work carried out by the park’s director, Sangiuliano said that further efforts would be made to increase the visitor experience and raise the quality of services.

It has not all been good news for the Colosseum this summer, however, with a controversry breaking out over the widespread practice of tickets for the site being resold at inflated prices, a phenomenon that the culture ministry has pledged to stamp out.