You Can Now Walk Through the Colosseum’s Secret Tunnel Once Used by Ancient Roman Emperors

Experts say the notorious emperor Commodus may have survived an assassination attempt inside this tunnel, which is now open to the public following extensive restorations

Sonja Anderson | Daily Correspondent

October 15, 2025

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A secret tunnel in the Colosseum once used by Roman emperors has opened to the public for the first time. The tunnel is known as the “Commodus Passage” after the villainous emperor depicted in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, who may have survived an assassination attempt in the passageway in the second century C.E.

According to a statement from the Colosseum Archaeological Park, the underground tunnel begins outside the amphitheater and ends at the pulvinar, or imperial box. That’s where ancient Roman rulers sat to watch the gladiator fights, animal hunts and naval battles staged in the Colosseum. The amphitheater was completed around 80 C.E., and the tunnel was added sometime between the first and second centuries.

“After the inauguration of the monument, they changed their minds and they decided to realize this underground corridor to allow the emperors to get inside the Colosseum without getting in touch with people,” archaeologist Barbara Nazzaro tells Reuters’ Cristiano Corvino. “This is something very particular because they had to cut [through] the foundation.”

The S-shaped passage was discovered in 1810, per the statement. It was excavated in 1874, reexamined in the 1990s and partially restored in 2020 and 2021. Another restoration of the tunnel began in 2024 and wrapped up last month.

The restoration uncovered traces of the marble that once lined the tunnel’s walls, which were later covered with plaster and painted with intricate landscapes. The passage also featured stucco depictions of the myth of Dionysus and Ariadne, and its entrance was decorated with scenes related to the Colosseum, such as boar hunts and bear fights.

“With a little effort of imagination and the help of a virtual reconstruction, [visitors] can appreciate the decorations, stuccoes, frescoes and marbles that covered the walls,” Nazzaro, who oversaw the restoration, tells the Associated Press’ Andrea Rosa and Giada Zampano.

The tunnel would have allowed emperors to avoid both the people of Rome and its senators as they entered the Colosseum, Nazzaro tells the AP. It was also supposed to keep the emperor safe—though Commodus, the passage’s namesake, may have faced grave danger inside it.

According to historical sources, “somebody [made an attempt on] his life in a corridor,” Nazzaro tells the AP. “Probably this is the corridor where this happened.”

Commodus, son of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, began ruling alongside his father in 177. When Marcus Aurelius died in 180, Commodus assumed sole power, ending a long period of peaceful prosperity in the empire. He executed people out of paranoia and pettiness, all while fancying himself a figure like the god Hercules. In 192, another attempt on Commodus’ life succeeded: His advisors directed a champion wrestler to strangle the emperor to death.

The Colosseum was operational for hundreds of years, hosting countless violent spectacles for Roman audiences’ enjoyment. Everyone attended the gory games—including Roman citizens, who entered through the amphitheater’s many ground-level entrances, and Roman royalty, who sometimes entered through the private tunnel.

“This passage is now open to the public; it’s the first time,” Nazzaro tells Reuters. “So [visitors will] appreciate what it was like to be an emperor.”

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Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in Chicago.