Entire area shut down on 27 March for US president.

The Colosseum will be off limits on Thursday 27 March to cater for security concerns around the visit of the US president Barack Obama.

Obama's trip to the Colosseum is part of the US president's three-day state visit to Italy, and is scheduled from 13.00.

The high-level security measures surrounding the Colosseum visit will result in the closure of surrounding streets, creating difficulty for the city's commuters for several hours. Authorities are also set to remove all street vendors from the vicinity and pedestrians will not be allowed access to the monument.

Based on the visit of former US president George W. Bush in 2007, the entire archaeological area is likely to be sealed off, with traffic banned from the section of Via dei Fori Imperiali between Largo Corrado Ricci and the Colosseum, part of Via Labicana, and Via di S. Gregorio.

Obama is scheduled to land in Fiumicino on 26 March and his state visit will include meetings with Pope Francis, the president of Italy Giorgio Napolitano and premier Matteo Renzi.