After almost three months of closure due to coronavirus, the Coliseum in Rome, the most visited tourist site in Italy, reopened its doors on Monday to visitors, who were only a few dozen in the morning to browse the usually saturated monument.
Nearly 300 people in total who have booked their visit online were expected on Monday, far from the 20,000 tourists who usually flock to the Flavian amphitheater, almost 2,000 years old and listed as World Heritage of Humanity.
"It is a symbol of Rome and Italy", underlined the chief architect of the site, Alfonsina Russo, judging "surreal" these three months without a single tourist coming to admire the majestic arenas. "But the feeling of emptiness highlighted the great beauty of this place, and its fragility," she said.
Romans take advantage of low affluence
Normally, nearly 20,000 tourists, 70% of whom come from abroad, visit the place daily, at the end of the Imperial Forum, at the foot of the Palatine Hill.
"We take advantage of the absence of foreign tourists to come for a stroll", rejoices a resident of Rome who came with his wife "for a first visit" to the Colosseum. "We wanted to see some old stones," says Luca, who also came with the family, and surprised by the few people for this reopening.
Adequate sanitary protections, with secure route, compulsory reservations and modified schedules, have been put in place. Taking advantage of the low attendance, site employees consolidated sections of mortar on the millennial walls, while a cat sneaked between the ruins. Sunday evening, the Colosseum was lit up with the colors of the Italian tricolor.
As it takes shape, Italy is gradually reopening its heritage and famous monuments, hoping to revive the key tourism sector as quickly as possible, undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic which caused almost 33 500 dead on the peninsula.
Famous buildings open for a week
Almost all of the famous monuments and buildings of the peninsula have reopened to the public for a week: Pompeii, Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Borghese Gallery or the Capitoline Museums, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, the tower of Pisa… The Vatican Museums, another major tourist destination in the world, also reopened on Monday, June 1.
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The innumerable groups of foreign tourists - and the nuisances that go with it - are nonetheless absent from the cobbled streets of the eternal city, a perfect opportunity for many Romans to reclaim their City under a mild spring sun. The government plans to reopen the borders from June 3.
