Glass lift completed after five years of works.

The Colosseum on Tuesday inaugurated an elevator to make the site more accessible for people with mobility difficulties as well as offering panoramic views over the Rome landmark.

The new lift, which will allow visitors to reach the highest levels of the ancient amphitheatre, was inaugurated in the presence of Italy's culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano who said: "From today the Colosseum is even more a World Heritage Site".

L’ascensore inaugurato oggi al @ParcoColosseo consente l’accesso al terzo ordine dove è possibile godere di un panorama meraviglioso. Il Colosseo è unico nel suo splendore. pic.twitter.com/q5TdMzzzSB— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) May 30, 2023

The occasion was marked by the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema which performed music by Hans Zimmer from the soundtrack to The Gladiator movie.

The idea to install the lift came about after a charity-fundraiser screening of Ridley Scott's blockbuster film in the Colosseum in 2018 when the Orchestra's president Marco Patrignani undertook to finance the project.

The Orchestra Italiana del Cinema performing music from The Gladiator soundtrack in the Colosseum as the sun goes down. Priceless. pic.twitter.com/h5L1hVnDqC— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 30, 2023

“As a man who works in music and cinema, I never thought I would personally follow the construction of a new lift at the Colosseum, from the design phase to its inauguration” - Patrignani said - “Five long years to ensure that a mighty iron and glass structure could give joy to millions of visitors from all over the world."

During his speech at the inauguration on Tuesday evening, Patrignani played a recorded message of congratulations to all involved in the project from Gladiator star Russell Crowe.

The Colosseum inaugurated a new elevator this evening, in the presence of Italy’s culture minister, with a special message from Gladiator star @russellcrowe pic.twitter.com/58RScX3zRW— Wanted in Rome (@wantedinrome) May 30, 2023

Paying tribute to Patrignani and the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema, the director of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo Alfonsina Russo said that "culture is and must increasingly be a right from which no one should feel excluded", underlining that both "cultural and physical accessibility" have always been a priority for her team.

"From today, thanks to the new elevator, it will be possible for all visitors to enjoy a highly evocative view of the skies over Rome, " Russo added.

The lift, which will be operational from June, fits into the monument in a harmonious way, and is designed to allow "total reversibility" without making any permanent structural alterations to the almost 2,000-year-old amphitheatre.

Photo courtesy Parco archeologico del Colosseo