The Colosseum

October 9, 2018 · by Dano · in Italy

OK, tons of history about this building located in the center of Rome. So much so, that to go through all accounts would fill up my website allocation so here’s the Reader’s Digest version.

Nero, the emperor that has been associated with the destructive fire in 64AD, decided to build a massive house where the fire ravaged Rome. He declared all land around the Palatine Hill area “condemned” and built his house, Domus Aurea, that covered between 100 to 300 acres (depending on who you believe). It was truly a large villa, complete with an artificial lake right in the center and a 120’ tall bronze statue of the man himself!

What does this have to do with the Colosseum? Well, impatient one I’ll tell you. The Colosseum stands right where Nero’s lake once was. So, lets back up. Nero kills himself in 68AD, and everyone is pissed. Not at the fact that Nero is dead, not at all. They’re pissed because he built this massive complex instead of taking care of them. They would have killed him given the chance, but he did the job himself so now Rome has no emperor.

No fewer than 4 emperors tried their hand at ruling between 68-69AD. The last one, Vespasian, had the secret. He would give back Rome to the people, as a Republic, and restore the authority of the Senate. He would also drain Nero’s lake and build a giant stadium for the people, where they could enjoy entertainment; people killing people, animals being killed, animals killing people, all the cool stuff, for free. So began the Colosseum.

Somewhere around 70-72AD, Vespasian began work on the largest amphitheater ever built. Although he did not live to see it completed, Vespasian dies June 23, 79AD, the grand-scale project was a success. Dedicated by his son Titus in 80AD with 100 days of games, the Colosseum was an engineering marvel.

Colosseum exterior

Measuring 620 by 513 feet, the Colosseum could hold about 50,000 spectators. There were 80 entrances / exits located around the stadium, each with a stairway leading to the assigned seating levels. The entire structure was covered in white marble with both Doric and Corinthian columns rising to the upper floors. Awnings were flayed out during the day to keep spectators, and VIP’s, out of the sun. It must have been a magnificent site!

The Colosseum floor and underground

Close-up of underground

Senator’s seats

After about 4 centuries of use, the Colosseum falls from grace and goes into a state of abandonment. Soon, it becomes a source of marble and bronze for other projects around Rome, like St. Peter and St. Johns cathedrals. Today you can see large holes in the walls where not only was the marble removed, but the bronze brackets that held the marble were also taken.

Damage left from removing bronze clamps that held the marble facing

Here’s a picture of the materials used in constructing the Colosseum. This enabled the Romans to build bigger, higher and stronger structures than ever before. There is white marble in the middle, tufa on the right side and brick on top. Together, the mix of these materials and the use of archways, the Romans could build massive structures.

White-marble; brown-tuff; brick

The Colosseum has been in a constant state of repair since the 1900’s and continues today. Even in its present state, it is still magnificent to see. Guess that’s why an average of 4 million tourists visit the Colosseum each year! Hell, that’s only 11,000 people a day, or ~1,300 people every hour it’s open.

That’s it for the Colosseum. We had a great tour with a very knowledgeable guide and even got to enter the Colosseum from the Gladiator’s entrance. Collette said she felt something strangely familiar with this site, the entryway, the ground. Something that reminded her of a previous life……