Overview
- A 22‑year‑old rope‑access worker, Andrea Moretti, fell about ten metres and died while installing a new lighting system at the Colosseum in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting emergency response and an autopsy order.
- The Rome prosecutor’s office opened an omicidio colposo (involuntary manslaughter) investigation led by deputy prosecutor Antonino Di Maio and tasked Carabinieri with seizing site and contract documents and interviewing two colleagues who were present.
- Early on‑site findings reported the worker’s harness was not attached to the rope while the rope itself was not found broken, and technical forensic experts will reconstruct anchoring, equipment and the sequence of events.
- The Parco archeologico and Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli ordered full closure of the Colosseum and an immediate suspension of all works after initial partial closures and union protests, leaving the monument closed to visitors and slowing the lighting project.
- Unions demanded urgent checks on procurement, contractor compliance and worker training and the case could trigger wider safety audits of rope‑access methods used on fragile heritage sites and scrutiny of the contract awarded to Moretti Quirino srl.