Italians like to think that the Colosseum is home to not only the first elevator in Italy, but also the first in the world.

The first 28 elevators appeared in Italy in 80 AD, with the opening of the Colosseum. The fact is that in the Colosseum, ferocious animals could not get into the arena through the usual entrances, so they were brought to the amphitheater shortly before the performance and kept in underground rooms in cages, which were then lifted with winches to the hatches leading to the arena.

In 2013, Providence Pictures offered to reconstruct one of the elevators for 200,000 euros. Archaeologists restored the elevator based on ancient texts and clues from the Colosseum itself: they studied the bronze fittings, still visible traces of rope on the stone, and holes cut for wooden pillars. Engineers worked on the elevator with philological precision for 15 months. The elevator design was reproduced using materials and mechanisms identical to those used by the Romans.

The elevator’s grand opening took place on June 5, 2015, and its first passenger was a wolf, the symbol of Rome. The “cabin” measures 180 cm by 140 cm, and is one meter high. The lift of about 7 meters is achieved in 15 turns of the winch. Eight people are required to lift animals weighing up to 300 kg in the freight elevator.

If you are in the Colosseum, be sure to pay attention to this elevator.