The Colosseum will offer a view like the gladiators

For over five hundred years, the Roman Colosseum was the largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire. Gladiatorial duels, fights with wild animals and executions were held there. But then, for centuries, it fell into disrepair. Now, almost 2,000 years later, this cultural monument is getting a new floor. It will actually be a replica of the original. It should be finished by the end of 2023.

A visualisation of the Colosseum with the new floor was published by Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. The contract worth 18.5 million euros was awarded to Milan Ingegneria. The floor will be composed of wooden slats. It will cover an area of three thousand square metres.

"The floor will be retractable. We will thus be able to control the condition underneath and at the same time visitors will be able to see the condition before the modernisation. It is planned to install wooden slats that can be rotated to allow natural light and air into the underground chambers," said Franceschini.

The aim of the renovation is to get closer to the Colosseum's original form. When it opened, it could hold up to 70,000 people. It is still one of Italy's most sought-after monuments. "The new look will allow visitors to see the Colosseum from the point of view of the gladiators," said Franceschini.

When the Colosseum was built in the 1980s, the floor was wooden and covered with sand. In those days, it was state-of-the-art workmanship. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered the stage and scenery and also balanced trapped animals on the stage. "The original floor of the Colosseum was highly innovative. In fact, the whole arena was a symbol of the most modern and expensive technology," said Andreas Steiner, editor-in-chief of the Italian magazine Archeo.