Closure of Rome's Colosseum extended for another day after worker's death

Italy's most visited tourist attraction, ​the Colosseum in Rome, will ‌stay closed ​for a third day on Friday, following the death of a maintenance worker at the 2,000-year-old amphitheatre.

The monument was shut ‌to visitors on Wednesday after Andrea Moretti, a 22-year-old technician, died in an overnight accident. He had fallen several metres while installing a new lighting system. A culture ministry spokesperson said ‌the closure, first extended until Thursday, would continue for another day, postponing the reopening to ‌Saturday.

The spokesperson said more time was needed for investigations and discussions with staff. The Colosseum was the biggest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire and was used to host gladiator fights, executions and animal hunts. It attracted ⁠nearly ​15 million visitors in ⁠2024, according to the latest ministry data.

"The news of the tragic death of Andrea Moretti, a skilled worker ⁠who died overnight ... has deeply shocked and saddened us," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday. Culture ​Minister Alessandro Giuli also ordered the suspension of all construction and maintenance work ⁠at the Colosseum until further notice.

Initially, only a section of the monument was closed, but Italy's biggest union, ⁠the ​CGIL, protested that was an inadequate response to the fatal accident. "Humanity comes before tourists," said Natale Di Cola, the CGIL's Rome chief, adding that the union was ⁠calling on Giuli to explain all the circumstances surrounding Moretti's death.

Unions were already concerned about ⁠safety. Last November, ⁠a Romanian worker died after being trapped for hours under the rubble of a partly collapsed medieval tower near the Colosseum.