Rome's Colosseum restored using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome

The Colosseum has a bright new look following a restoration using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome to recreate parts of columns from 2000 years agoThousands of Romans once flocked to this arena to watch gladiators battle each other and wild animals The structure still captures the publics imagination it is Italys most popular tourist destination with nine million visitors in 2025 aloneThe project focused on a semicircular piazza outside the arena where Roman spectators crowded under two arcades comprised of marble columns stretching up to 50 meters 164 feet high People stood in these arcades as they waited to pass through the entrances and take their seatsThose arches are long gone collapsing over the centuries from earthquakes and unstable ground But now tourists will be able to sit on large travertine marble slabs where the columns once stood and read reproductions of the Roman numerals that indicated seat sectionsThese blocks of travertine marble are placed located exactly where the pillars the original pillars were based said Italian architect Stefano Boeri who designed the piazza The idea we had was to give back to the public the perception of the proportion of the arcades and the proportion of the vaults of the arches that were used to enter in the center of the Colosseum Over time the outside area became filled with detritus including pieces of ruins and overgrown with weedsRestorers began by digging a meter yard to where the travertine paving stones once covered the entrance area They discovered coins statues animal bones and a gold ring Deeper down is the secret underground passageway where Emperor Commodus used to enter the Colosseum while avoiding the hoipolloi and which was opened to the public last yearRestorers sourced the new slabs of travertine from the same quarries where the ancient Romans retrieved theirs and that today are used build a new generation of religious buildings banks museums government buildings and private homesFrom the beginning we understood only one thing and that was that we wanted to be involved Fabrizio Mariotti head of the Mariotti Carlo stonecutting firm that has been carving travertine to order for four generations in Tivoli said Tuesday while sitting on a slab of the stone For a family like ours that has been working with travertine for four generations working at the Colosseum which is the symbol not only of Rome but also of this material is so importantEarlier this year the city of Rome opened two new subway stations one deep beneath the Colosseum completing a multibillion euro metro project The restoration of the Colosseums perimeter was done using compensatory funds from the metro project officials saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever