Guides from the Boutique
Where to buy a Roman or gladiator helmet in Rome
Imperivm Art, at Via Cavour 280 in Rome, a five-minute walk from the Colosseum, sells steel helmet replicas: a small Roman centurion helmet with a red crest (€80 with a steel stand), a small Maximus gladiator helmet (€80), their collector versions and two Greek helmets. The two at €80 are small display pieces, about 40 cm in circumference, the centurion about 20 cm and the Maximus about 15 cm high with their stands; the four larger ones, from €200, are about 80–85 cm and can be worn. The Maximus design follows the 2000 film, not an excavated type. Open every day, 10:00–20:00.
Our six Roman and Greek steel helmets, with their prices
Centurion, Maximus, Corinthian, Spartan: which is which
The centurion's crest has an ancient source. Vegetius, a late Roman writer, says that centurions wore their crests crosswise and silvered, so that their men could recognise them quickly (Epitoma rei militaris II, 13 and 16). Vegetius is speaking of Roman centurions; on our centurion helmet, polished steel with brass detailing, the red crest is mounted from front to back in our shop photos.
The Maximus helmet, with its spiked crown and barred face guard, is inspired by Ridley Scott's Gladiator, a film released in 2000. It is a film design: we do not present it as the reconstruction of a helmet found in an excavation.
The Corinthian helmet and the Leonidas Spartan helmet are Greek in style, not Roman.
The names collectors use: Montefortino, Coolus, Imperial Gallic
Museum labels and specialist books use type names. In The Armour of Imperial Rome (1975) H. Russell Robinson sorted Roman infantry helmets into Montefortino, Coolus, Imperial-Gallic, Imperial-Italic and Auxiliary Infantry types, as M.C. Bishop recalls in an article for Osprey Publishing (2025). A Montefortino helmet you can look up: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds a bronze “Helmet of the Montefortino Type”, Etruscan, late 4th–early 3rd century BCE (accession number 2015.758.1).
None of our helmets is sold as a reconstruction of one of those types. They are decorative steel replicas. If you need a helmet that follows one specific find, for re-enactment, ask the seller which find it copies: we cannot name one for ours, so we do not.
Steel or tin: how to judge a replica in your hands
Material. Steel feels cold, rings rather than rattles, and has weight: lift the helmet one-handed by the bowl and thin sheet gives itself away.
Joints, inside, stand. Cheek pieces should hang on real hinges or rivets, with rivet heads visible inside as well as out. A decent helmet is finished inside too, with rolled edges rather than a raw cut, and has a stand: without one it rests on its brim and scratches its own finish. Our larger helmets are sold without one: a wooden display stand is available separately, €20.
Questions to ask before you pay
What metal? If the answer is just “metal”, it is probably thin sheet. History or film? The centurion helmet is our Roman-style piece; the Maximus is the icon of the film. Is any part of it old? It should not be: in Italy archaeological objects found underground belong to the State (Codice dei beni culturali, Legislative Decree 42/2004, art. 91), and are not souvenirs.
What we declare about our helmets, and what we have not measured yet
All six are steel, as each product page states, and all the pieces in this guide are made in Italy. None of them is protective equipment, and nothing bought as a souvenir belongs in a re-enactment fight. The circumferences and heights below are the shop's own approximate figures.
- Roman centurion helmet, steel stand (€80). Steel, polished silver finish, brass detailing, red crest; supplied with a steel display stand. A small display piece: about 40 cm in circumference and about 20 cm high with the stand.
- Centurion helmet, Collector Edition (€200). The collector version of the centurion helmet: steel, polished silver finish, brass detailing, red crest. Wearable, about 80–85 cm in circumference.
- Maximus gladiator helmet, steel stand (€80). Polished steel, spiked crown, barred face guard; with a steel display stand. A small display piece: about 40 cm in circumference and about 15 cm high with the stand.
- Maximus gladiator helmet, collector edition (€200). Polished steel, spiked crown, barred face guard. Wearable, about 80–85 cm in circumference.
- Corinthian helmet, black and gold (€220). Steel, matte black and gold finish, horsehair-style crest. Wearable, about 80–85 cm in circumference.
- Leonidas Spartan helmet (€250). Steel, aged bronze finish, black crest. Wearable, about 80–85 cm in circumference.
What we have not published yet: the height of the four larger helmets, the weight and the steel thickness. They have not been measured, so no number appears here. If you want a helmet to wear, look at the larger ones: you can try them on in the shop, and they come without a stand.
Beside the helmets: the cuirass and the scutum
The Roman muscle cuirass (€330) is a real steel breastplate with brass-coloured decoration and a front cingulum: a wearable replica, not protective equipment. The Roman scutum (€220) is a painted shield, Jupiter's winged thunderbolt in gold on red, purely decorative.
Seeing them in Rome, or having one shipped
Everything is at Via Cavour 280, a five-minute walk from the Colosseum and four minutes from the Colosseo metro stop (line B), open every day from 10:00 to 20:00. In the shop you can pick a helmet up and compare two finishes side by side.
Online, the same helmets are sold through our Etsy boutique: tracked shipping is free in Italy, €15 to the European Union and €40 to other countries, and Etsy shows the estimated delivery date before you pay. Online orders can be returned within 14 days. For busts, statues and the rest, see our page for Roman history enthusiasts and collectors.
Common questions
Where can I buy a gladiator helmet in Rome?
At Imperivm Art, Via Cavour 280, a five-minute walk from the Colosseum, open every day from 10:00 to 20:00: steel replicas from €80: the two small helmets come with a steel display stand, the larger ones are sold without a stand (wooden display stand €20 extra). The Maximus helmet follows the 2000 film; the centurion helmet has a red crest, mounted from front to back in our shop photos.
Are your helmets antiques, or re-enactment equipment?
Neither. They are modern steel replicas, declared as such: not archaeological finds, and not certified for re-enactment combat. The four larger helmets, from €200, can be worn and tried on in the shop: about 80–85 cm in circumference. The two on a steel stand are small display pieces, about 40 cm.
What is the difference between the €80 helmets and the collector versions?
The €80 centurion helmet and the €80 Maximus helmet are small display pieces on a steel stand, about 40 cm in circumference; with the stand, the centurion is about 20 cm high, the Maximus about 15 cm. The centurion Collector Edition (€200) and the collector Maximus (€200) are larger, about 80–85 cm in circumference, and can be worn; they come without a stand, and a wooden display stand is available separately, €20.
Do you ship helmets abroad?
Yes, through our Etsy boutique: free in Italy, €15 to the European Union, €40 to other countries. Helmets are not blades, so they are not limited to the twelve countries blades can go to.
Every piece in this guide lives in the boutique at Via Cavour 280, a five-minute walk from the Colosseum — visit us, or buy it online on Etsy.
Open every day 10:00–20:00
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