Address Colosseum: Piazza del Colosseo - Roma
Address Palatine Museum: Via di San Gregorio 30 - Roma
Opening hours: every day, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. From April to October, last entrance is at 5:30 pm.
Closing: Mondays, 1st January, 1st May and Christmas day.
PLEASE NOTE: the ticket which allows to enter and visit the Colosseum also includes the entrance to the Roman Forum and to the external archaelogical area of the Palatine. The ticket lasts 2 days from the entrance time written on your voucher. The booked entrance time is for the Colosseum entrance and must be respected. After visiting the Colosseum, visitors can enter the Roman Forum and the Palatine museum with same tickets in the following 2 days.
Reservations are limited to 13 people maximum. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. For groups over 13 people please contact our reservation office info@ticketsrome.com.
Italy Travels cannot be held responsible for partial closing museum rooms, itinerary variations inside the museum, cancellations or entrance delays due to unaspectable events, strikes or decisions taken by the museum direction or by the Ministero dei Beni Culturali or by the Sovraintendenza delle Belle Arti.
The Colosseum history
The construction of the Colosseum was started under the emperor Vespavian and was completed by his son Titus in 80 A.D. Originally named the amphitheatre of Flavio, it became known as the colosseum because of an enormous bronze statue of Nero which in the second century A.D. was placed near by the monument.
The building was used for gladiator fights, hunting simulations involving ferocious and exotic animals and similar entertainments. The building was constructed with blocks of stone and brickwork. The outside is composed of four levels, the first three of which are made up of 80 arches while the fourth is divided into sections interspersed with windows. On this level were placed both stone and wooden supports which held an enormous canopy which served as a roof to protect the spectators from the elements. The brickwork on the inner building was finished employing a marble veneer. The arena itself was a huge wooden floor covered with sand while the subterranean passages consisted of a series of tunnels where the wild beasts and various equipment used during spectacles were held. Holding up to 73.000 spectators, entrance to the Colosseum was regulated through a ticket system, with each ticket indicating where the holder should go through the internal passages and corridors to find his or her seat.
