Years, centuries and millennia pass, but the Colosseum never ceases to amaze. A new surprise emerges every time an archaeologist or scholar approaches its precious architecture.
Just a few days ago, in fact, news broke that the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo had opened the so-called Passage of Commodus to the public for the first time, the underground corridor that connected the pulvinar (the stage reserved for the Empire's high-ranking officials) with the outside of the monument. The association with the name of Commodus (180-192 AD) derives from the correspondence, far from certain, with the dark place in the Amphitheatre where the Emperor was attacked by a conspirator (Cassius Dio, LXXII, 4).
The vaulted passageway, partially lit and ventilated by skylights, was located at the southern end of the Colosseum's minor axis, but was not planned during construction. It was therefore built later, between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, by excavating the foundations of the Flavian Amphitheatre.
The opening of the Passage of Commodus, the emperor who loved and was an expert in gladiatorial combat, is of extraordinary importance for having made accessible for the first time ever a place rich in charm for its history, architecture and decorative elements of exclusive use and hidden from the crowds, and for having restored legibility to the ancient surfaces: walls covered in marble, stuccoes with mythological scenes from the myth of Dionysus and Ariadne, and scenes related to the shows in the arena (boar hunts, bear fights accompanied by acrobatic entertainment, tricks behind doors from which animals emerge). To aid understanding of the subjects depicted, a tactile map and a video with a digital reconstruction of the preserved traces are available.
At the entrance, a staircase - which overlaps, without covering them, the 19th-century steps built to overcome the original difference in height with the arena floor - is also transformed into a lifting platform to allow visitors to overcome the limited architectural barrier.
How to visit the so-called Passage of Commodus
From 27 October 2025
Opening days Monday and Wednesday
Opening hours from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Educational tours
Italian at 2:00 pm
English at 3:00 pm
Spanish at 1:00 pm
Passage of Commodus Ph. Simona Murrone, Parco Archeologico del Colosseo
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