Overview

• Giovanna Maria Giammarino, 56, collapsed while leading a group at around 6 p.m. on Aug. 19 after climbing stairs inside the Colosseum and died despite emergency efforts.
• The precise cause has not been officially confirmed, with some reports citing suspected heat stroke and others reporting a cardiac arrest during extreme temperatures.
• Two tourists started CPR as Colosseum staff brought a defibrillator, but she could not be revived, according to the Association of Certified Tourist Guides of Italy.
• Colosseum officials offered condolences and turned off the monument’s lights on Wednesday night, and senior culture and tourism officials issued public tributes.
• Guide groups and unions renewed calls to shift visiting hours to cooler periods—AGTA urges 7:00 openings with later closings—and criticized the immediate reopening; the site’s summer schedule runs 8:30 to 19:15.