Stefano Boeri Interiors Restores Southern Ambulatory Areas of the Colosseum in Rome

"The intervention 'restored the perception of the monument's original scale and pavement level,' while enabling visitors to approach the structure more directly and understand the sequence of the ambulatory and its arches. This recalibration of levels, based on archaeological findings and geometric studies, also enabled the reorganization of the stormwater drainage system, integrating surface slopes and transitions into the paving design while maintaining coherence with the monument's historical configuration."

"The works concentrate on the southern facade between arches 60-76 and 1-18, where the original crepidine, still visible on the northern side, had been lost, and reintroduce this double perimeter step through a controlled lowering of the surrounding piazza by approximately one meter, allowing the reemergence of its proportions and reestablishing the relationship between the amphitheatre and the adjacent public space."

Stefano Boeri Interiors led a restoration of the Colosseum's southern ambulatory, reconstructing the crepidine (double perimeter step) that had been lost on the southern facade between arches 60-76 and 1-18. The intervention involved lowering the surrounding piazza by approximately one meter to reestablish the original proportions and relationship between the amphitheatre and adjacent public space. Archaeological investigation informed the geometric definition and material articulation of the project. The restoration reinstated the monument's original scale and pavement level, enabling visitors to approach the structure more directly and understand the ambulatory sequence. The work also reorganized the stormwater drainage system, integrating surface slopes into the paving design. Approximately 3,130 square meters of new paving uses trapezoidal travertine slabs arranged in alternating bands that respond to the crepidine's curvature.

Read at ArchDaily