Rome's Colosseum gets a fresh look that recreates the footprints of long-gone columns

The Colosseum has a bright new look following a restoration using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome to recreate parts of columns from 2,000 years ago

ROME -- The Colosseum has a bright new look following a restoration using the same travertine marble of ancient Rome to recreate parts of columns from 2,000 years ago.

Thousands of Romans once flocked to this arena to watch gladiators battle each other and wild animals. The structure still captures the public's imagination; it is Italy’s most popular tourist destination, with 9 million visitors in 2025 alone.

The project focused on a semicircular piazza outside the arena, where Roman spectators crowded under two arcades comprised of marble columns stretching up to 50 meters (164 feet) high. People stood in these arcades as they waited to pass through the entrances and take their seats.

Those arches are long gone, collapsing over the centuries from earthquakes and unstable ground. But now, tourists will be able to sit on large travertine marble slabs where their columns once stood and read reproductions of the Roman numerals that indicated seat sections.

“These blocks of travertine marble are placed, located exactly where the pillars, the original pillars were based,” said Italian architect Stefano Boeri, who designed the piazza. “The idea we had was to give back to the public the perception of the proportion of the arcades and the proportion of the vaults of the arches that were used to enter in the center of the Colosseum.”