After almost three months of closure due to coronavirus and of confinement, the Colosseum in Rome, the most visited tourist site of Italy, reopened its doors on Monday to visitors, who were only a few dozen in the morning to browse the monument usually saturated.
Nearly 300 people in total who booked their visit online were expected on Monday, far from the 20,000 tourists who flock to the Flavian amphitheater, almost 2,000 years old and a World Heritage Site, far from the crowd.
It’s a symbol of Rome and Italy
, said the site’s chief architect, Alfonsina Russo, surrealist
these three months without a single tourist coming to admire the majestic arenas. But the feeling of emptiness highlighted the great beauty of this place, and its fragility
, did he declare.
Normally, almost 20,000 tourists, 70% of whom come from abroad, visit the place daily, at the end of the Imperial Forum, at the foot of Palatine Hill.
Border reopening planned for June 3
We take advantage of the absence of foreign tourists to come for a walk
, rejoices Pierluigi, a resident of Rome who came with his wife for a first visit
of the Collisée.
We wanted to see some old stones
, says Luca, who also came with his family, and surprised by the few people for this reopening.
Adequate sanitary protections, with secure route, compulsory reservations and modified schedules, have been put in place.
Taking advantage of the low crowds, site workers consolidated sections of mortar on the millennial walls, while a cat sneaked between the ruins. Sunday evening, the Colosseum was lit up with the colors of the Italian tricolor.
As it takes shape, Italy is gradually reopening its heritage and famous monuments, hoping to revive the key tourism sector as quickly as possible, damaged by the Covid-19 pandemic which caused nearly 33 500 dead on the peninsula.
Almost all of the famous monuments and buildings on the peninsula have reopened to the public in the past week: Pompeii, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Borghese Gallery or the Capitoline Museums, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, the Tower of Pisa… The Vatican Museums, another major tourist destination in the world, also reopened on Monday, June 1.
The innumerable groups of foreign tourists – and the nuisances that go with it – are nonetheless absent from the cobbled streets of the eternal city, a perfect opportunity for many Romans to reclaim their City under a mild spring sun.
The government plans to reopen the country’s borders from June 3.
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