Thumbs up for concerts at the Colosseum

Gladiatorial venue is just perfect for Sting or U2, says director of Rome’s World Heritage Site

CENTURIES after the Colosseum rang to the clash of swords and the baying of spectators, the new director of Italy’s most famous monument wants to open it up to rock concerts by such performers as Sting and U2.

Alfonsina Russo was appointed as senior manager at the first-century amphitheatre last week as part of Italian government efforts to reinvigorate the country’s cultural heritage.

Musicians would perform on stages constructed over what was once the floor of the Colosseum, where sand soaked up the blood of fallen gladiators and wild animals slaughtered in elaborately choreographed shows.

“I want the Colosseum to return to its original function, a place frequented by ordinary people, a place where Romans can watch spectacles, to wander around as people did during the time of the emperors,” Ms Russo, an archaeologist with extensive experience of managing heritage sites, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“I want it to go back to being a familiar place, not somewhere you want to stay away from because of the enormous queues of tourists.

“It would be wonderful if Sting or Bono could perform here. I want a place that is living, vibrant, not just a museum you visit once in your life.”

Concerts have been held in the Colosseum before. The latest was in September,

‘I want the Colosseum to return to its original function, a place frequented by ordinary people’

when the unlikely combination of Andrea Bocelli, the opera singer, Sir Elton John and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith performed for charity.

In 2003, Sir Paul Mccartney performed in front of about 400 concertgoers at a benefit concert, joking that “it’s the first time there’s been a band in the Colosseum since the Christians.” Ms Russo says concerts will be more frequent, in an effort to broaden the appeal of the UN World Heritage Site, which adjoins the ancient Forum and the Palatine Hill, where emperors built their marble palaces.

“I want this whole archaeological area to really be the heart of the city,” she said. However, Ms Russo has also resolved to tackle the problem of ticket touts, souvenir sellers and purveyors of snacks and cold drinks that throng the cobbled area around the site. “Above all we need to return it to legality and to show visitors that Italy is a civilised country,” Ms Russo said.

Her appointment was announced by Dario Franceschini, the culture minister, who said Ms Russo was well qualified to manage Italy’s most visited historical site, with more than six million tourists going there every year.

Its travertine exterior was recently cleaned with a donation of €25million (£22million) from Tod’s, an Italian shoe company, and last month it was announced that, for the first time in decades, visitors would be permitted to climb up to the fifth and highest level.