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Rome's Colosseum - A Magnificent Tourist Attraction
Before the structure we call "The Colosseum" was a famous tourist attraction, it was pretty much a sporting arena called Il Colosseo at times, and at other times by its original given name, The Flavian Amphitheater. It was a huge phenomenal elliptical structure that sprawled over six acres and was capable of seating 50,000 people at the events held there at the peak of the Roman Empire.
For centuries after the Colosseum was opened in the first century, some of the bloodiest games in human history were held there where gladiators fought to the death, or prisoners were thrown to wild animals to be devoured for the entertainment of others. When you visit the site on your trip to Rome, very little will remain of those brutal times except for the vaults, cells and tunnels underground where humans and animals alike were brought to the stadium and held to await their time before the crowd.
Over the centuries, fires and earthquake have damaged the building significantly. Nonetheless, much of the grandeur that was on display here at the peak of the Roman Empire can still be sensed in these ancient rooms.
When you visit the Colosseum and see how large it is from the top of the structure 157 feet up, you can almost see the huge spectacles that happened there so many years ago as though they just happened last week. Of course the days when slaves and warriors and lions passed through those red brick arches that are now crumbling are far in the past. But as you walk the passageways of this fascinating Roman attraction, you can sense the ghosts of those who fought there in the past mixing with the other tourists around you.
Like a modern football stadium, the seats are laid out in layers. From any of those seats you can look out over the numerous levels of arches that surround the spread out stadium. Take a seat in the stands for a moment and you can just about hear as the crowd erupts with cheers when the Emperor enters through one of the four gates that are only for the use of him and his party. The other 76 entrances to the stadium were there for citizens to enter and enjoy the festivities, along with Roman royalty.
The Colosseum took eight years of hard labor to construct and the work of 15,000 slaves and designers before it finally opened for use in 80 AD. The name of the facility came from a very popular statue near the main entrance called "The Colossus." At the time, many thought that statue was actually of Nero himself but over the life of the empire, the face of each successive Emperor could be found on the Colossus as well. You can still find the large base of this huge bronze statue standing between the Temple of Venus and Roma and the remains of the Colosseum.
When the Colosseum opened, there was a marathon of celebrations that went on for 100 days at every level of society from royalty to the barbarian, as they revelled in their new stadium. Huge throngs of people watched gladiators fighting to the death as well a form of lion taming that was far more brutal than anything we would put up with in our times.
Where people sat in that huge stadium depended on your social rank. For obvious reasons, the emperor had the best seats along with his royal entourage. The upper levels, by contrast were reserved for women who had no part with the royal party. But at any level, it was easy to see the shows and battles happening in the Colosseum arena, which included exotic animals like hippos, elephants and rhinos, along with the big cats that were part of the games as well.
The more important officials who had the good seats in the Colosseum got to sit under masts and velarium which were canopies that helped shade them from the sun as the combat occurred before them. But those things have long since disappeared to the ravages of time. The huge columns and walls have survived, including the Doric columns at the lowest level, to the Ionic columns on level two and then finishing with the Corinthian at the third level.
As a tourist, you will be overwhelmed at all of the architecture you see at the Colosseum site and you will recognize the designs because they have been used in stadiums all over the globe. The Colosseum was the first arena of this kind and it was also the biggest and most famous structure of its kind. Before the building of this mighty stadium, previous arenas were hollowed out of hillsides for smaller events. You can still see some of those stadiums around Rome as well.
But as you plan your schedule for your visit of Rome, visiting the amazing Colosseum is a must.
About the Author Rome-Accom.com - the Rome apartment rentals specialists - are based in Central Rome, and all speak English. For the larger Italy accommodation market, we have 500+ apartments available on Italy-Accom.com, including apartments, villas and farmhouse rentals.
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