Colosseum / Chapter 01
The Colosseum Archaeological Park
An introduction to everything your ticket to the Colosseum lets you access
12 min read
Your Colosseum ticket includes more than just the amphitheatre. It opens two more extraordinary pieces of ancient Rome: the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.
Here were the temples and monuments of Rome’s civic center, the halls where political power was exercised, the route of triumphal processions, and, rising above it all, the hill where emperors built their palaces. Taken together, these three places reveal the landscape of Roman power, spectacle, religion and public life.
Three Sites, One Landscape
Triumphal processions passed beside the Colosseum and continued along the Via Sacra through the Forum, while routes climbing the Palatine connected that ceremonial center to the imperial palaces above. The three areas belonged to the same tightly connected urban landscape rather than functioning as isolated sites. So, what we have today is akin to a thousand years of Rome packed into a few square miles.
Scale
270,000 m²
(or about 35 soccer fields)
In some places, you’re 20-30 feet above original Roman street level
The Forum and Palatine sat at the center of Roman power for centuries, and the Colosseum rose beside them. The rich, famous and powerful of the Republic lived there. Augustus set his Roman home on Palatine. Others followed suit, though successive emperors rarely cleared the slate before building on Palatine. Instead, they built next to older monuments, incorporated them, overshadowed them, or left them standing as reminders of the past they were actively restyling as their own. A palace could rise above an earlier residence; a triumphal arch could appear beside generations-old monuments; a new temple could join a landscape already dotted with offerings to many other gods.
The Three Sites
The Colosseum
The Colosseum sits at the edge of the park, connected to the Forum and Palatine by processional routes. It was about spectacle—mass entertainment through which emperors displayed generosity, status, and imperial power.
Built by the Flavian emperors starting in 70 CE, the Colosseum (formally the Flavian Amphitheatre) could hold around 50,000 spectators. It hosted gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, executions, dramatic reenactments, and, in its earliest phase, mock naval battles. But even with such a spectacular lineup, what actually took place inside these walls is quite different from what most visitors picture when they arrive.
Colosseum guides’ #1 complaint:
Ask a Colosseum guide what their biggest frustration is, and it’s not the crowds or the heat—it’s Hollywood. Thumbs-up/thumbs-down verdicts, gladiators fighting to the death by default, lions around every corner: most of what people “know” going in comes from movies, not history. Guides say a good chunk of a tour gets eaten up correcting those misconceptions before they can get to what actually happened here.
Beforehand’s full Colosseum series goes deeper into the Colosseum’s origin, politics, engineering, and how it was used — including a specific deep dive that dissects ten of the most common myths guides have to dispel.
The Roman Forum
The Forum began taking shape in the late 7th century BCE and remained a hub for Roman public life for more than a thousand years. It was the center of day-to-day life: the venue for public speeches and criminal trials, the nucleus of commercial and legal affairs, and the heart of government for Rome. Here, statues and monuments commemorated the city’s leaders and triumphs.
Today it’s a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and intermittent archaeological excavations of major Roman buildings tied to religion, government, law, public ceremony, and memorial honors. Some examples include:
The Regia. The Regia is one of the oldest surviving structures in the Forum. It was traditionally associated with Rome’s early kings and later served important priestly functions. Some of its ruins date to the 8th century BCE.
The Altar of Caesar first established immediately after Caesar’s death in 44 BCE on the site of his cremation pyre, immediately in front of the Regia.
The Temple of Vesta housed Rome’s sacred flame. The Cult of Vesta was among Rome’s most ancient cults, although the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries.
The Senate House (the Curia) was where senators debated policy.
The Rostra was the speakers’ platform where orators addressed crowds.
The Basilica Julia handled legal proceedings. Triumphal arches—like the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Arch of Titus—commemorated military victories.
Altar of Caesar
The spot where Gaius Julius Caesar was cremated is marked by a small, plain-looking mound of stones under a corrugated roof.
Visitors still leave flowers there today
Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill was home to some of Rome’s earliest settlements. Archaeological evidence shows activity here from the 10th-8th centuries BCE. Legend says this is where Romulus and Remus were found by a she-wolf, and where Romulus later founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE and became its first king.
During the Roman Republic, Palatine was home to the villas of wealthy aristocrats, including the orator Cicero. Then, at the dawn of imperial Rome, Augustus established his residence there, beginning Palatine’s transformation into the seat of imperial power. Successive emperors expanded the palace complexes until they came to dominate the hill.
Today, Palatine features sprawling palace ruins, beautiful gardens, and stunning views over the Circus Maximus, the Forum, and the city itself. Walk through the House of Augustus, where the first emperor consolidated power. Stand in the ruins of Domitian’s massive Domus Augustana, where, according to the ancient writer Suetonius, Domitian became so fearful of assassination that he lined the colonnades where he walked with reflective stone so he could see what was happening behind him. (He was assassinated in the palace in 96 CE anyway.) See the House of Livia, traditionally identified as the residence of Augustus’s formidable wife—one of Rome’s most storied women, later accused by ancient writers of poisoning political rivals.
Was Livia the most powerful octogenarian in Rome, or the most slandered?
Livia was first married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, with whom she had two sons: Tiberius and Drusus. She divorced him and married Octavian—the future emperor Augustus—in 38 BCE, while pregnant with Drusus.
For years, Augustus tried to secure the imperial succession through men other than her sons. One after another, those intended heirs died.
In the end, the throne passed to one of Livia’s sons: Tiberius. Ancient writers accused Livia of being a serial poisoner who cleared his path to the throne one suspicious death at a time. Some even claimed Augustus himself was her final victim.
But accusation is not evidence. So what was the case against Livia?
Building Periods and Key Structures
The Colosseum Archaeological Park preserves traces of Rome’s earliest periods (foundations, pottery fragments, evidence of early settlement) through the collapse of imperial Rome—and nearly every era in between.
Its grounds, particularly the Roman Forum, appear as a vertical stack of many different epochs of Roman history. You will rarely find an area dedicated to just one era. More likely, you’ll find a 1st-century Imperial arch standing over a 5th-century BCE Republican street, right next to a 17th-century Baroque church built inside a 2nd-century Roman temple.
Reading the Layers
The chronology of what you may encounter at the Colosseum Archaeological Park
Legendary Founding
Traditional Date: 753 BCE
Rome’s mythological founding by Romulus. Archaeological evidence shows settlement activity on the Palatine Hill from around the 10th–8th centuries BCE, though the exact founding date is legendary rather than historical.
Regal Period/ Monarchy
753 BCE –
509 BCE
Rome is ruled by kings (seven, according to tradition). The city develops from settlements on various hills into a unified urban center. The Forum area begins to be drained and developed as a central meeting space. Early fortifications and religious sites are established.
Republican Period
509 BCE –
27 BCE
The monarchy is overthrown and the Republic is established in 509 BCE (traditional date). The city continues developing its civic infrastructure, with the Forum becoming increasingly important as Rome’s civic and religious center and the heart of the city. Temples, basilicas, and political buildings are constructed. The Palatine Hill has residential structures, including homes of wealthy Romans and early Republican-era buildings.
Key Structures
- Temple of Saturn — originally built ca. 497 BCE
- Temple of Castor and Pollux — originally built 484 BCE
- Curia (Senate House) — Republican-era structure, though current remains are from later rebuilding
- Tabularium — built 78 BCE, state archives building
- Temple of Vesta — Ancient origins, rebuilt multiple times during the Republic
- House of the Vestal Virgins — Republican origins
- Rostra — Republican-era speakers’ platform (later modified)
Augustan/ Early Imperial Period
27 BCE – 68 CE
Augustus transforms the Forum with new temples and monuments. The Palatine Hill begins its transformation into an imperial residential zone, with Augustus building the first imperial palace complex there.
Key Structures
- Temple of Caesar — Built by Augustus, 29 BCE, on the site of Caesar’s cremation
- Arch of Augustus — Built 19 BCE (fragmentary remains survive)
- Temple of Concordia — Rebuilt by Tiberius, 10 CE
- Basilica Julia — Begun by Julius Caesar, completed by Augustus
- House of Augustus — Augustus’s residence on Palatine Hill
- House of Livia — Livia’s residence on Palatine Hill
Flavian Period
69 CE – 96 CE
The Colosseum is built (70-80 CE) by Vespasian and Titus on the site of Nero’s drained lake. This is the major construction phase that defines the area’s most famous monument.
Key Structures
- The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre) — Initiated by Vespasian (begun 70-72 CE), completed by his son Titus (80 CE)
- Temple of Vespasian and Titus — Begun under Titus for his deified father and completed under Domitian after 81 CE
- Arch of Titus — Built by Domitian ca. 81 CE, commemorating Titus’s victory in Judea
- Meta Sudans — Monumental fountain probably connected with construction of the Colosseum
- Domus Augustana — Major imperial palace complex on Palatine, built by Domitian (81-96 CE); modified by later emperors
- Stadium of Domitian — On Palatine Hill, part of the imperial palace complex
Trajanic/ Hadrianic Period
97 CE – 138 CE
Trajan builds his forum and markets just outside the current boundaries of the main archaeological park. Hadrian constructs the Temple of Venus and Roma, which sits between the Colosseum and the Forum, and has the Colossus of Nero moved.
Key Structures
- Temple of Venus and Roma — Construction begun by Hadrian circa 121 CE, inaugurated circa 136-137 CE, and completed by Antoninus Pius in 141 CE (sits between the Colosseum and the Forum)
Later Imperial Period
2nd to 4th centuries CE
Existing structures continue to be modified and expanded. The Arch of Constantine is built beside the Colosseum in 315 CE, while older buildings throughout the Forum and Palatine Hill undergo further restoration.
Key Structures
- Temple of Antoninus and Faustina — Built by Antoninus Pius, 141 CE
- Arch of Septimius Severus — Built 203 CE
- Arch of Constantine — Built 315 CE
- Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine — Begun by Maxentius (306-312 CE), completed by Constantine
Post-Roman/ Medieval Period
5th century CE onward
Buildings are repurposed or stripped for materials; others fall into ruin. Churches are built into or near ancient structures. The Colosseum becomes a quarry, an apartment complex, a fortress, and later gains its modern nickname.
Notes on Roman Building Practice
- Romans were the ultimate recyclers. Many “Imperial” buildings you see were actually built on Republican foundations using “Monarchy-era” stones. A single building might have been destroyed, rebuilt, and modified six times over 800 years.
- The imperial palaces on Palatine Hill were continuously modified and expanded by successive emperors.
- In the Forum, the deeper an excavation goes, the farther back in time you’re looking. The “surface” you walk on today is often several meters higher than the street level of Julius Caesar’s time.
What Survived and Why
The temples, basilicas, arches, and palaces you’ll see are the remains of millennia of monumental Roman stone and concrete architecture. But these buildings were just the ceremonial and administrative core. What about everything else the area contained?
Unlike an abandoned city left to decay, Rome never stopped being inhabited. For nearly three thousand years, each generation built, demolished, and rebuilt on top of what came before. The everyday city—houses, shops, workshops, apartment blocks—largely disappeared because successive generations had little reason to keep it intact. Materials were salvaged and reused. Old buildings were torn down to make room for new ones. Street levels rose as successive generations built on top of rubble and debris.
Rome was also repeatedly sacked—by Visigoths in 410 CE, Vandals in 455 CE, and others—and suffered through periods of dramatic population collapse. At points during the early and high Middle Ages, Rome’s population may have fallen from over a million at its peak to perhaps 20,000. Entire neighborhoods were abandoned. Churches were built into ancient temples. The Colosseum became a quarry for building materials. What couldn’t be carried off was eventually buried under centuries of accumulated debris.
The monumental stone and concrete structures in the Colosseum Archaeological Park survived in part because they were too massive to fully demolish, and because some of them—like temples converted into churches—were actively protected. Much of the everyday city is gone, replaced by the layers of the living city that grew on top of it.
Much of the Forum was gradually buried beneath silt and accumulated debris, while surviving ancient structures were absorbed into the medieval and later city. The Forum visitors see today is predominantly the result of systematic excavations from the 18th and 19th centuries, which continued into the early twentieth century. These excavations uncovered what had been preserved underground—mostly structures that had been protected through continued use or were simply too massive to destroy completely. The everyday city, built of less durable materials and with no special protection, is largely gone.
Practical Information
Tickets
As of 2026, a 24-hour standard ticket costs €18 (plus booking fees) and includes admission to the Colosseum levels 1-2, Colosseum Museum, the Roman Forum, Roman Forum Museum, Palatine, Imperial Fora, and any exhibitions in progress in those areas.
There are additional ticket options that include access to “Super Sites”—specific locations equipped with experiential enrichment media like video projections, light mapping, narrative voices, and informational displays. Several also contain some of the best-preserved frescoes in the city.
Super Sites (as of 2026)
› Palatine Museum (lower floor)
› House of Livia
› Domus Tiberiana (exhibition rooms)
› Horrea Piperataria
› House of Augustus
› Aula Isiaca and Loggia Mattei
› Santa Maria Antiqua
* Individual sites may close for restoration or maintenance; check current availability before visiting.
To enter the Colosseum underground levels, you must buy a “Full Experience – Underground Levels and Arena” ticket. The €24 ticket (as of 2026) is valid for two consecutive days, giving you one timed Colosseum entry with access to the amphitheatre, the arena, and the underground levels, plus one admission to the Roman Forum-Palatine-Imperial Fora-Super Sites during that two-day validity period.
Official Ticketing
Explore the official Parco Archeologico del Colosseo ticketing website for current ticket options.
Tour Expectations
A guided tour of the Colosseum typically runs 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on whether it includes special access to the arena floor or underground chambers. Tours that cover the Forum and Palatine as well usually run 3 to 3.5 hours total. You can also explore the sites on your own at your own pace.
Pro Tip: Start at the Palatine Hill
Most people start at the Colosseum and then head to the Forum and Palatine when they are already tired. If your ticket allows flexibility, consider visiting the Palatine Hill first. The Via di San Gregorio entrance is one of the quieter entrances, and the approach is often shaded. As a bonus, you’ll get the best views of the Forum from above before descending into the “chaos” of the ruins.
Footwear and Hydration
Water Fountains
Look for the curved iron drinking fountains throughout the park. The water is cold, free, and delicious.
Sturdy Shoes Required
The Roman Forum is paved with large, uneven volcanic stones. Wear sturdy shoes. This is not the place for flip-flops or heels.
Beforehand’s Philosophy: A better visit starts before you arrive.
We believe a trip to Rome is too expensive to spend your time wondering what else there is to the story all around you.
Beforehand’s full Colosseum series is designed to give you the context that’s hardest to absorb while you’re being rushed through one of the world’s great historic places: the stories, people, politics, engineering, and history behind the amphitheatre’s nearly two millennia of life.
Read before you go, so you’ll recognize more of it when you arrive, whether you’re taking a guided tour or visiting independently.