Colosseum night tours sell out in Rome heat

The Colosseum in Rome has extended night opening hours this summer to let more visitors tour the amphitheatre in cooler temperatures after sunset.

The night tours run until 11:00 pm and are sold out. The Colosseum had already offered tours two nights a week, but doubled that to four this summer.

Simone Quilici, director of the Colosseum complex, said the decision to add Friday and Saturday night tours was mainly meant to give access to visitors who prefer cooler hours. He said some tourists had been staying away because of intensifying heatwaves in the Italian capital.

The extended opening was made possible by a grant from the Italian culture ministry, and the initiative could be extended into September, Quilici said.

The tours are guided and limited to 275 people a night. The monument receives up to 20,000 visitors a day at peak times.

Visitors described the illuminated Colosseum as more comfortable and atmospheric at night. Victor Li, 52, told AFP that touring after sunset was “a lot more comfortable”, while Svetlana Spielberg, visiting from the United States, called it “really beautiful” and “more romantic”.

The Colosseum, built in the first century, was used for events including animal hunts and gladiatorial games and could hold about 50,000 spectators.