Ancient Rome
A guided walk around one of the world’s best-known monuments, bringing together history, architecture, and the people who shaped ancient Rome.
Tours from €100 per group
The Colosseum’s story begins before its construction. After the Great Fire of 64 CE, Emperor Nero created a vast private complex in the heart of Rome, the Domus Aurea, with gardens and an artificial lake. The Flavian dynasty later transformed this area into a public space.
Building began under Vespasian, and Titus inaugurated the amphitheatre in 80 CE. Its scale and organisation reveal Roman engineering skill, as well as the way architecture could bring tens of thousands of people together in one place.
The arena games were more than entertainment: they formed part of public life and the relationship between rulers and the city’s population. Seating reflected social hierarchies, while the programme could include animal hunts, executions, and gladiatorial combat.
These themes help explain who gladiators were, how they trained, and how spectacle became a form of power and propaganda. The tour places the history in context, beyond the image shaped by films.
The Colosseum did not remain unchanged after antiquity. Earthquakes, the changing city, and the reuse of materials all left visible marks on its structure. Seen alongside the Forum and the surrounding hills, it tells a wider story of how Rome was built, transformed, and reinterpreted its past.
The experience focuses on stories and the connections between the monument, Roman society, and the city today.
