Italy to add 'extraordinary' new floor to Colosseum to give visitors gladiator’s view

Italy’s minister of culture on May 2 approved the plan to restore and furnish Rome's ancient Colosseum, which will give visitors a chance to stand where gladiators once fought. According to BBC, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini announced the project to build the wooden, rectangle floor that will allow people to view the archaeological wonder from ground level as soon as 2023. Franceschini informed that Italian engineering firm Milan Ingegneria won the $22.2 million contract to design the floor.

Currently, the 2,000-year-old monument is floorless and the ruins of the underground levels’ walls and tunnels exposed to the open air save for a small platform. While taking to Twitter, Franceschini shared a graphic showing an artist’s impression of the “extraordinary” new floor and said that it would allow visitors to “see the majesty of the Colosseum” from its centre. The Italian minister also said that the “ambitious project” will aid the conservation of the archaeological structures. 

Italy plans to host Rome G20 culture summit 

According to a press release, the minister further informed that cultural events could be held in the Colosseum once the floor had been restored to its former glory. Franceschini also revealed that the country plans to host the Rome G20 culture summit at the Colosseum in July and it may serve as a venue for other major cultural events. Further, the Colosseum's executive archaeologist Alfonsina Russo said construction of the arena should begin by the end of the year or early 2022. 

It is worth noting that Milan Ingegneria was one of the 10 competitors who answered the Italian government’s 2020 call for bids to redesign a new floor for the Colosseum. As per reports, the winning design involves installing hundreds of wooden slats that can be rotated to allow natural light and air into the underground chambers. The Italian ministry said that the new 32,300-sq-ft floor would be entirely reversible, should plans for a new design be made in future. 

The Colosseum was the biggest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire. Gladiatorial fights and other public spectacles were hosted in front of crowds of at least 50,000 people. The monument remains one of Italy’s most famous landmarks. Before the pandemic, the monument attracted about 7.6 million people in 2019. 

(Image: Twitter)