Ancient amphitheatre reopens to tourists on Saturday, three days after a worker died during lighting installation works, as unions raise concerns over subcontracting and workplace safety.The Colosseum reopened to the public on Saturday 26 September, three days after it was closed following the tragic death of a young worker at the Rome landmark.Andrea Moretti, 22, an experienced rope-access technician, died overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday after falling around 10 metres while working on the installation of a new lighting system at the Flavian Amphitheatre, due to be unveiled in early October. He was found wearing his harness and helmet, with the safety rope intact but the carabiner unclipped, leaving investigators to determine whether the fall resulted from human error or equipment failure.The Colosseum Archaeological Park - which includes the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill and the Domus Aurea - closed to visitors on Wednesday to allow investigators to reconstruct the circumstances of the accident and check compliance with workplace safety rules. The closure was subsequently extended for a further two days. Prosecutors in Rome have opened a probe into manslaughter in violation of workplace safety regulations, formally naming seven people under investigation as a routine step ahead of the autopsy, scheduled for Monday. The company carrying out the works, Moretti Quintilio, a firm specialising in seismic safety and heritage maintenance, was operating under a subcontract.On Friday, Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli visited the amphitheatre to meet staff at the Colosseum Archaeological Park. "It was time to share this moment with staff: to look at each other, talk, listen to one another as a united body and move forward, while awaiting justice to take its course," he said, adding that safety and labour protection issues would be addressed with union representatives "as soon as possible, in the appropriate forums."The CGIL public sector union's general secretary, Federico Bozzanca, had written to Giuli urging an urgent meeting on workplace safety at cultural sites, "too often run through contracts or subcontracts". The union is calling for stricter checks on contracting arrangements, hiring policies and swift action "so that what happened does not happen again". "The immense tragedy that occurred on the night of 22 September at the Colosseum, with the death of Andrea Moretti, should never have happened," the letter states. "It must be the last." Photo credit: Octavian Lazar / Shutterstock.com

The Colosseum reopened to the public on Saturday 26 September, three days after it was closed following the tragic at the Rome landmark. Andrea Moretti, 22, an experienced rope-access technician, died overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday after falling around 10 metres while working on the installation of a new lighting system at the Flavian Amphitheatre, due to be unveiled in early October. He was found wearing his harness and helmet, with the safety rope intact but the carabiner unclipped, leaving investigators to determine whether the fall resulted from human error or equipment failure.

The Colosseum Archaeological Park - which includes the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill and the Domus Aurea - closed to visitors on Wednesday to allow investigators to reconstruct the circumstances of the accident and check compliance with workplace safety rules. The closure was subsequently extended for a further two days. Prosecutors in Rome have opened a probe into manslaughter in violation of workplace safety regulations, formally naming seven people under investigation as a routine step ahead of the autopsy, scheduled for Monday. The company carrying out the works, Moretti Quintilio, a firm specialising in seismic safety and heritage maintenance, was operating under a subcontract.

On Friday, Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli visited the amphitheatre to meet staff at the Colosseum Archaeological Park. "It was time to share this moment with staff: to look at each other, talk, listen to one another as a united body and move forward, while awaiting justice to take its course," he said, adding that safety and labour protection issues would be addressed with union representatives "as soon as possible, in the appropriate forums."

The CGIL public sector union's general secretary, Federico Bozzanca, had written to Giuli urging an urgent meeting on workplace safety at cultural sites, "too often run through contracts or subcontracts". The union is calling for stricter checks on contracting arrangements, hiring policies and swift action "so that what happened does not happen again". "The immense tragedy that occurred on the night of 22 September at the Colosseum, with the death of Andrea Moretti, should never have happened," the letter states. "It must be the last." Photo credit: Octavian Lazar / Shutterstock.com