Rome reopens Piazza Colonna to public after 10 years

Rome has reopened Piazza Colonna, the central square outside the headquarters of the Italian government, after being off-limits to the public for much of the last decade.

Pedestrians can once again walk through the piazza which was sealed off in April 2013 after two carabinieri military police officers were shot and seriously injured outside Palazzo Chigi during the swearing-in of the new government led by Enrico Letta.

On Thursday morning police removed the barriers from the piazza which was reopened on the express wishes of Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, according to news reports.

Situated parallel to Via del Corso, the piazza is home to the landmark Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has stood there since AD 193, and a 16th-century fountain designed by Giacomo Della Porta.