Colosseum Opens Commodus Passage for First Time in 2,000 Years

For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, visitors to Rome's Colosseum will be able to walk through a previously hidden imperial corridor that once allowed Roman emperors to enter and leave the arena unseen. The passage, known as the Commodus Passage, opens to the public on Oct. 27, following a restoration that archaeologists and conservationists say preserves and reveals decorative and architectural features that had been inaccessible for centuries.

Archaeologists at the Colosseum Archaeological Park say the S-shaped corridor led from the emperor's honor box on the south side of the amphitheatre beneath the stands and out beyond the arena, providing a protected route for emperors to reach the spectacle. The passage was long known to scholars after being first documented in the early 19th century, but only now, after a year of conservation work completed between October 2024 and September 2025, can visitors traverse the restored route.

Restoration teams carried out structural conservation, repaired decorative stuccoes and plasters, and installed a new walkway and lighting system designed to recreate the shafts of natural light that once filtered through small vault openings. A...