The man who just took charge of Rome’s top tourist attraction wants to set the record straight: the Colosseum will not be hosting any electronic dance music parties on his watch.
Simone Quilici, director of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, shared his plan to bring concerts to the almost 2,000-year-old amphitheatre in an interview with an Italian newspaper earlier this month, and social media proceeded to do what it all too often does. “Massive raves” were imminent, multiple accounts trumpeted alongside AI-generated images of multicoloured light beams shooting from the arena into the heavens.
Quilici heard complaints from archaeologists and ordinary Romans, dismayed that their cultural heritage could be so desecrated. Even electronic music fans expressed concern online about the damage a whomping bass beat would inflict on an ancient structure that continues yielding new wonders, like Emperor Commodus’ secret passage that opens on October 27.
Concerts must respect the Colosseum as a “sacred space,” Quilici said, as it was integral to Roman identity and has become imbued with religious significance. Today, it is the site of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession during Easter, traditionally presided over by the pope.
“The music must be carefully controlled. I mentioned certain artists – not by accident – who haven’t been ‘rock’ for some time, who play calm music and attract a calm audience, because the important thing is that it’s not a wild crowd,” Quilici, 55, said.
“I joked about rock in moderation – that’s what I meant, a more subdued kind of music. But it was reported the opposite of what I said.”
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