Following the Unification of Italy (1861) and the proclamation of a secular state with Rome as its capital (1870), the great season of excavations at the Colosseum began, including the first excavations of its underground levels in 1874.

In the name of the “secularization” of the amphitheater, finally considered a monument, the excavations included the removal of the small shrines corresponding to the Stations of the Cross and the large cross erected in the center of the arena by Benedict XIV in 1750. Although certain “clerical” voices rang out to denounce what they considered the desecration of a site sacred to Christ and the Christian martyrs, these were initially to no avail.

The controversy reemerged as a savvy political strategy during the Fascist period: on 24 October 1926, the cross was erected anew, first in the center of the arena and then along its northern side — where it can still be found. The ceremony held within the Colosseum was immortalized by a video shot by the Istituto Luce, in which the event’s political tones are evident. This would be followed in 1929 by the signing of the Lateran Pacts. Once again, centuries after its construction, the amphitheater was chosen a stage to display the propaganda of the ruling party.

To make the cross’s return official, a Latin inscription was carved into its travertine plinth, of which only fragments remain. It bears a part of the hymn to the Holy Cross recited during Good Friday celebrations.