What natural disaster severely damaged the Colosseum in 1349?

An earthquake severely damaged the Colosseum in 1349, collapsing much of its outer south side.

The damaged section stood on less stable alluvial ground in the valley where the amphitheatre had been built. The earthquake caused a major collapse, adding to the destruction caused by earlier earthquakes, fires, neglect and long-term structural wear. The fallen stone did not simply disappear: much of it was quarried and reused in buildings across Rome.

By the fourteenth century, the Colosseum was no longer functioning as the vast entertainment venue of imperial Rome. Parts of it had been converted into housing, workshops and other uses, while the city’s population and political circumstances had changed dramatically. The earthquake accelerated the monument’s transformation into a ruin and a convenient source of building material.

The disaster is sometimes described as the single event that destroyed the Colosseum, but that is misleading. It caused one of the most dramatic collapses, especially on the southern side, while centuries of stone removal and other earthquakes also shaped the structure visible today.