Airbnb offer of 'gladiator experience' in the Colosseum causes fury

Airbnb's offer of an 'exclusive gladiator experience' inside the Colosseum has infuriated Italians who claim 'Rome is not Disneyland'.

The company are giving history buffs the chance to 'suit up and unleash your inner gladiator inside Rome's legendary arena'.

Doubling as a promotion for the upcoming film 'Gladiator II', a small number of people have been given the chance to follow in the footsteps of fighters and beasts.

An announcement from Airbnb reads: 'For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, the Colosseum returns to its original purpose as a venue for performances, inviting daring warriors to step foot inside the historic arena to forge their own paths and shape their destinies.'

It also promises the spectacle of a 'thrilling showdown' by seasoned gladiators, a meal of 'victuals like grapes, pomegranates, almonds, and walnuts,' and a faceoff with 'fellow warriors.'

However, far from returning the Colosseum to 'its original purpose', Italians have fumed over the company's decision.

'We can't turn one of the world's most important monuments into a theme park,' wrote Massimiliano Smeriglio, Rome's councillor for culture, in an Instagram post, reports MSN.

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Lauren Donovan Ginsberg, a professor of classical studies at Duke University, also told the news site: 'The idea of cosplaying the violence done to the bodies of professional gladiators, usually enslaved or lower class citizens or immigrants, on the site of so much violence as a 'side benefit' of your Airbnb stay — a company ALSO directly profiting from the overtouristing of Rome — seems to me to be the wrong kind of engagement with ancient Rome.'

City councillor Enzo Foschi told the Telegraph as well that: 'Rome is not Disneyland.'

Airbnb said its Colosseum evening experience comes with $1.5 million in support for the ancient site.

People can submit a request to book the three-hour 'Train for Gladiator II glory' experience between November 27 and December 9. They will then visit on May 7 or 8.

Earlier this week, Denzel Washington revealed one of the Gladiator II scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor ahead of the release of Ridley Scott's $310M-budget historical epic.

The 69-year-old acting veteran portrays slave-turned-powerbroker Macrinus, who maintains a stable of gladiators and desires to become Roman emperor.

'I kissed a man on the lips, but it got cut,' Denzel told Gayety on October 31.

'I think they got chicken. I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren't ready for that.'

Washington noted that his ruthless character then kills the same man 'about five minutes later' in a symbolic gesture he called 'the kiss of death.'