Rome (AFP)

After almost three months of closure due to coronavirus, the Coliseum in Rome, the most visited tourist site in Italy, reopened its doors on Monday to visitors, who were only a few dozen in the morning to browse the usually saturated monument.

Nearly 300 people in total having booked their visit online were expected this Monday, far from the 20,000 tourists who usually crowd in the Flavian amphitheater, almost 2,000 years old and listed as World Heritage of Humanity.

"But the feeling of emptiness highlighted the great beauty of this place, and its fragility," Russo told AFP.

Normally, nearly 20,000 tourists, 70% of whom come from abroad, visit the place daily, at the end of the Imperial Forum, at the foot of the Palatine Hill.

"We are taking advantage of the absence of foreign tourists to come and stroll", rejoices Pierluigi, a resident of Rome who came with his wife "for a first visit" to the Collisée.

"We wanted to see a few old stones," says Luca, who also came with the family, and surprised by the few people for this reopening.

Adequate sanitary protections, with secure route, compulsory reservations and modified schedules, have been put in place.

Taking advantage of the low attendance, site employees consolidated sections of mortar on the millennial walls, while a cat sneaked between the ruins. Sunday evening, the Colosseum was lit up with the colors of the Italian tricolor.

As it takes shape, Italy is gradually reopening its heritage and famous monuments, hoping to revive the key tourism sector as quickly as possible, undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic which caused almost 33,500 dead on the peninsula.

Almost all of the famous monuments and buildings on the peninsula have reopened to the public in the past week: Pompeii, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Borghese Gallery or the Capitoline Museums, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, the Tower of Pisa. .. The Vatican Museums, another major place of world tourism, also reopened this Monday, June 1.

The innumerable groups of foreign tourists - and the nuisances that go with it - are nonetheless absent from the cobbled streets of the eternal city, a perfect opportunity for many Romans to reclaim their City under a mild spring sun.

The government plans to reopen the country's borders from June 3.

© 2020 AFP