Beneath the Colosseum, where the gladiators awaited their fate and the crowds applauded, was another arena concealed: the most enigmatic of underground passages and secret passages, which enabled the Emperor to move unseen. The Passage of Commodus is undoubtedly the most intriguing of these sites, and the Colosseum Archaeological Park is now making it available to the public for the first time. The Corridor connected the pulvinar (the stage reserved for the Empire's highest ranks), which was placed at the southern end of the Colosseum's minor axis, to the exterior of the monument. It was not part of the original design but was carved later, between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, by digging the foundations of the Flavian Amphitheatre. The opening of the Passage of Commodus is of extraordinary importance because it marks the first time that a location known for its history, architecture, and decorative apparatus, which were previously reserved for the emperors and concealed from the public, is now accessible. Additionally, the restoration has also made the ancient surfaces fully legible again: marble-clad walls, which still show traces of the metal clamps that supported the slabs, later replaced by plaster painted with landscapes; stuccoes on the vault, which depicts mythological scenes from the myth of Dionysus and Ariadne; and niches at the entrance to the route, which feature scenes related to the arena shows (wild boar hunts, bear fights accompanied by acrobatic performances, and tricks behind the doors from which animals emerge).