Rome Coliseum Site Features

The hypogeum

Two levels of tunnels, animal cages and lift shafts under the arena, opened to the public in summer 2010. This is the part that explains the spectacle mechanically rather than rhetorically: the floor was a stage with machinery under it, and the machinery is what survives.

The upper levels

Open for guided visits since 2017, and the only place to get the view down the long axis from where most of the audience actually sat. Access is by guided tour rather than general admission.

The Commodus Passage

The route by which emperors entered discreetly, and the site of a failed assassination attempt on Commodus. It was rediscovered in the 1810s, restored between October 2024 and September 2025 with its decorative stuccoes recovered and a walkway added, and opened to the public on 27 October 2025. A further restoration project is planned to begin in 2026, so check what is accessible for your date.

The numbered arches

Entrances XXIII to LIIII on the surviving outer wall, with the Roman numerals still legible. Free to look at, and the clearest surviving evidence anywhere of how a Roman crowd was sorted and routed.

The senators' graffiti

Names of fifth-century senators carved into the stonework, reserving their seats. Five centuries after the building opened, people were still marking their places in it.

The Ludus Magnus

The gladiator school east of the amphitheatre, visible from street level and free, with its own small training arena and the underground passage that connected it to the Colosseum.