July 6, 2018

The Colosseum is one of the ridiculous sites that just sneaks up on you.  It is a warm, sunny morning.  You are strolling down the street.  Round a corner.  And stop…dead in your tracks.

Once upon a time there was this guy called Nero.  Nobody liked him.  He died in 68 AD and another ‘guy’ took his place.  He didn’t last long.  Neither did the next guy, or the next.  In the year after Nero’s death, four Emperors would give it a shot. Number four was Vespasian.  He and his sons Titus and Domitian would rule Rome from 69 AD to 96 AD.

Vespasian wanted people to like him so he tore down Nero’s palace and started erecting the largest stone amphitheater ever seen.  In 80 AD, Titus officially opened the Flavian Amphitheater with one hundred days of games.

 

The amphitheater was well used for about 400 years.  Over time it was damaged by lightning and earthquakes and much of the building materials were re-purposed in other projects.

The design of the arches on the ground floor allowed quick entry and exit to 50,000-80,000 spectators.

Originally they may have flooded the area under the arena and staged mock sea battles.  Later Domitian added the hypogeum, or underground, area beneath the arena.  In addition to housing animals and slaves, there were 80 elevator shafts for lifting people, animals, and scenery pieces onto the floor.

FUN FACT:

In 1643, Domenico Panaroli began cataloguing the plants growing at the Colosseum.  Today there are around 242 species still growing.  Two hundred of those are the same types originally found by Panaroli.

Arch of Constantine   315 AD

The Arch of Constantine was built to honor Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at Pons Milvius.

TRAVEL TIPS:  Buy all of your tickets on-line, before leaving home.  This applies to any and every ticket you may need while in Italy.  Purchase tickets (and tours) directly from the venue, they are a fraction of the price offered by tour groups and agencies.  If you are at the Colosseum, opt for the underground (most popular) and/or belvedere tour.  The belvedere tour takes you to the top two tiers of the Colosseum.

All of the guidebooks will tell you not to eat near the sites because the food is touristy and expensive.  This is true, but when else are you going to sip a beer right outside the Colosseum?