Rome: Colosseum Night Tour with Underground Access – Rome, Italy

EXPERIENCE:

Experience the Colosseum in the magical atmosphere of the Roman night on a guided tour. Be among a small number of visitors to witness the Colosseum at its most nostalgic, revealing the full sense of its past glory.

Begin your tour in the magnificent Piazza del Campidoglio, a wonderful square built by Michelangelo that stands out as a symbol of the elegance and beauty of the Renaissance. This square is an ideal point to begin your tour, brilliantly showcasing the nostalgic inspiration that the artists of the Renaissance drew from the rediscovered sights of antiquity and the journey the city has taken through the centuries – from oblivion to re-birth.

Continue with a walk down the Via dei Fori Imperiali. At night, this is a truly wonderful experience – imagine that you’re in the midst of an outdoor museum, a fascinating time capsule bathed in moonlight beneath the stars. On one side are the majestic ruins of the Forum of Augustus and the striking concave architecture of Trajan’s Market, dominated by the enormous columns of the Basilica Ulpia.

On the other side of the Roman Forum walk up to the back of the Capitoline hill to see the stunning ruins of the Roman Forum from an elevated viewpoint – the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of the Vestal Virgins and other spectacular buildings all spreading out before you.

You then reach the iconic Colosseum. Your tour here begins on the first level, where you can take in the original structure of the building – built by the labor of hundreds of slaves who worked with travertine brought from quarries at nearby Tivoli. Enter the minds of the remarkable architects who gave birth to the project and somehow made the construction possible in just ten years.

The night descent to the Colosseum’s underground is evocative to say the least. The underground, known in Latin as the hypogeum, consisted of a sequence of high-tech tunnels that were remarkable for the era. Learn about the series of coordinated pulleys and gears that served the lifts for the arena: through access hatches, caged animals were brought up and down like cargo in a modern elevator.

Unravel the wealth of archaeological evidence relating to the apparatus used, as well as show you beautiful contemporary engravings and mosaics found inside the Colosseum. See how gladiators and animals were placed side by side in special cages – just imagine how they would have stared into one another’s eyes for the last time before their fateful ascent into the arena above.

See that the labyrinthine underground area below the arena of the Colosseum was almost totally dark, illuminated only by the light of hundreds of gloomy lanterns – many of which have been found during archaeological excavations.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:

Experience the Colosseum in a magical atmosphere beneath the stars
Explore the underground tunnels of the Colosseum at night
Discover the secrets of the ancient world’s most iconic edifice
Enjoy a walk down the Via dei Fori Imperiali, a truly wonderful experience

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