Holidays Paradise

The Rome Colosseum is quite possibly one of the most amazing thing I have ever seen. In my late winter visit to Rome this was the first part of ancient Rome we saw and made a point of walking past it every day at different times for a truly magnificent view of the structure.

Constructed over 1920 years ago, It is considered an architectural and engineering wonder, and remains as a standing proof of both the grandeur and the cruelty of the Roman world.

The Amphitheatrum Flavium, a.k.a. Colosseum or Coliseum (though in the antiquity Romans referred to it as to Amphitheatrum Caesareum or hunting theater), was built by the Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian between 71-72 and 80 AD as a gift to the Roman citizens, in the place where the previous Emperor Nero (37-68 AD) had built his residence, the Domus Aurea.

It took about ten years to build the amphitheater. Vespasian started the works in 72 AD and his son Titus dedicated it in the year 80 with magnificent games that lasted one hundred days. It is generally accepted that the building was completed by the following emperor, Domitian, Titus’ brother.

In the amphitheater, a Roman invention, were held games; the most popular were the venationes (hunts) and the munera (gladiatorial games). The Roman ruling class was obliged, by law and by the expectation of the people, to organize games, also to gain the favor of the citizens. The organization of the games, which involved great expenses, became a matter of public interest and was regulated by many laws.

The whole area was dedicated to the games; near the Colosseum Domitian also built four ludi, the prisons where gladiators had their training. The bestiarii, who fought against the beasts, were in the Ludus matutinus, so called because the show with the animals was held in the morning. Then there was the Ludus Gallicus, the Ludus Dacicus and the Ludus Magnus.

After the splendor of imperial times, the Colosseum was abandoned, and in turn it became a fortress for the medieval clans of the city, a source of building materials, a picturesque scenery for painters, a place of Christian worship. Today it is a challenge for the archaeologists and a scenario for events and shows.

Light up at night and well worth the walk into town just for the holiday snaps. I strongly recommend a trip inside but go either first thing or later in the day as it gets pretty crowded and it’s too bad for the beautiful sights to be rushed.

The exterior of the Roman Colosseum is made entirely of travertine, stretching 527 m around and four stories high. The arches of the second and third stories were originally filled with statues. There were 80 entrances, with the two principal ones reserved for the emperor and his entourage.

The interior is made of brick, tufa and marble; little of the marble survives today. The central area, the arena, was covered with a great wooden floor and canvas to make it waterproof. Over this was a layer of sand to absorb blood - in fact “arena” derives from the Latin word for sand. The floor is now exposed down to its underground passages, where beasts and gladiators awaited their fate, and crossed by a modern walkway.

The arena was surrounded by a 5m-high wall to protect spectators from attacks by wild beasts. At the top of the wall was the podium, on which the imperial party and other VIPs had their seats.

Near the site of the imperial box is a cross, which replaces an earlier one set up to commemorate the Christians who were believed to have been martyred here.

Above this was the cavea or seating area. This was divided into three tiers: the lowest for knights; the middle for wealthy citizens; and the top for the general population. In total the Colosseum could hold up to 45,000 spectators.

The base of the Colossus statue of Nero, after which the amphitheater is named, can be seen between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

There are dozens of tour guides outside offering a tour of the Colosseum but most will only tell you what it says in the guide book anyway. If you really want to take a tour, my advice would be to use context travel who offer tours by historians and archaeologists.

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