Photo: Simona Murrone
Visitors to Rome’s Colosseum will have a new area to explore thanks to the opening of a passageway that has been closed for nearly 2,000 years. The so-called Commodus Passage was a way for the Roman emperor to enter the famed arena safely. After a restoration that lasted 11 months, the area will finally open to the public on October 27.
While the corridor is named after Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius who ruled from 177 CE to 192 CE, he was not actually responsible for its construction. It was actually built some time before he came into power, between the rules of Domitian (81 CE to 96 CE) and Trajan (98 CE to 117 CE). The name likely comes from the fact that Commodus, who was a passionate fan of gladiatorial games, faced an assassination attempt in the long hallway.
Fitting for a corridor that led officials directly to their royal seating, the Commodus Pass is filled with decorative stucco work and depictions of boar hunts, bear fights, and acrobatic performances. Now visitors will have the chance to put themselves in the place of these leaders as they stroll through the newly restored space.
“Visitors can now have a taste of what it was like to be an emperor entering the arena,” says architect Barbara Nazzaro, who oversaw the restoration works. “With a little effort of imagination and the help of a virtual reconstruction, they can appreciate the decorations, stuccoes, frescoes, and marbles that covered the walls.”
In the new year, another phase of work will begin. This time, tackling the part of the passageway that leads beyond the perimeter of the Colosseum. Thanks to a glass door installed at the current end of the corridor, visitors will be able to see how that work unfolds in real time.
To include the Commodus Passage in your next visit, book the Full Experience tickets, which include all of the underground areas of the Colosseum.
The secret passage that Roman emperors used 2,000 years ago to take their seat in the Colosseum is opening to the public.
Photo: Simona Murrone
The so-called “Commodus Passage” is filled with decorative stucco work and wall decorations.
Photo: Simona Murrone
Photo: Simona Murrone
Source: Once-secret Emperor Commodus’ passage to Rome Colosseum opens to public for the first time; Riapre il Passaggio di Commodo
All images courtesy of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo.
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