Italian-American popstar Madonna has announced plans to open a new luxury Hard Candy Fitness centre in the Colosseum area of Rome this spring.

The 1,200-sqm centre will be part of Madonna’s Hard Candy global chain of luxury gyms and will be managed in partnership with Italian fitness firm Dabliu.

The three-storey gym will offer fitness classes based on the "Addicted to Sweat" routines used by the Queen of Pop, as well as yoga studios, spaces for group training and a coffee bar.

Plans are underway for additional locations in Rome but details are not yet available.

Media reports last summer suggested that Madonna was contemplating buying an apartment in the Italian capital, with the Aventino and Coppedè districts said to be her favourite locations.