Fabio Pulls A Colosseum Show

History may not accurately record any musical entertainment took place when the gladiators and the lions stopped for half-time, but it’s doubtful that The Colosseum has hosted any live music for several centuries.

That’s about to change, as Fabio Ranzenigo of Pull Music and Italian violin maestro Bruto "Uto" Ughi have the Italian Heritage and Culture Ministry’s permission for Ughi and his orchestra to play a couple of gigs within the walls of the 2,000-year-old ruin, one of New Open World Corporation’s New Seven Wonders of the World.

Although the capacity of the Amphitheatrum Flavium – as it was originally called – is estimated at about 50,000, there’s so much rock and rubble lying around that there’s only room for a seated audience of about 400 for the June 27-28 performances.

Concerts on the Via dei Fori Imperiali boulevard, just outside the famous Roman landmark, have become popular and have featured acts including Paul Simon, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Ray Charles and Billy Joel with Bryan Adams, but Pull Music believes this is the first time the venue has been made available for a concert inside its walls.

The event will be a benefit concert to raise funds for FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), with which Pull has been working in close collaboration for several years.

The Colosseum is today one of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lira (then US$19.3million).