The Colosseum is the largest monument of the history and culture of Ancient Rome, the largest amphitheater of the ancient world. For tourists coming to Italy from all over the world, the Colosseum is perhaps the main attraction of the capital.
The Colosseum is located in the center of historic Rome, east of the entrance to the Roman Forum. It can be reached by metro, the station is called Colosseo. Since the Colosseum is constantly surrounded by crowds of tourists, it is not too difficult to find it.
History of creation and appearance of the Colosseum
The giant amphitheater was built on the orders of the emperor Vespasian, the successor to the infamous Nero. Wanting to outshine the glory of his predecessor, Vespasian in 72 AD. ordered to build an amphitheater, which was supposed to amaze with its scale and splendor. Initially, the building was called the Flavian Amphitheater, but this name never caught on. Since the size of the building really boggled the imagination, the amphitheater began to be called "huge", "colossal" - "colosseus", which in the Russian version sounds like the Colosseum.
The Colosseum looks like a huge oval bowl measuring 188 x 156 m. It was originally designed for 56 thousand spectators. The outer walls of the amphitheater are decorated with semi-columns (pilasters) of three architectural styles. In the first tier, half-columns of the Tuscan order are used, in the second - Ionic, in the third and fourth - the more decorative Corinthian. Another decoration of the Colosseum was statues installed in the arches of the second and third tiers. The height of the walls reaches 50 m, so it is difficult not to notice it.
Colosseum sights
The center of the Colosseum was occupied by the now destroyed arena. Gladiator fights and animal baiting took place there. The rooms under the arena housed cages for animals and rooms for the wounded and killed gladiators. There was also an aqueduct, with the help of which the arena could be filled with water. In this case, naval battles were played out in the Colosseum. The dimensions of the arena made it possible to release up to 3000 pairs of gladiators simultaneously.
The Colosseum was built in 8 years, but Vespasian did not live to see its opening. The first spectators visited the amphitheater during the reign of his heir, Emperor Titus. The festive games, held in honor of the opening of the Colosseum, took place over a hundred days, 2000 gladiators and 5000 wild animals took part in them.
Ancient amphitheater today
Today, next to the Colosseum, you can take pictures with artists dressed in the uniform of ancient Roman warriors. But, unfortunately, the Colosseum has long ceased to be that majestic and beautiful amphitheater as the inhabitants of Ancient Rome saw it. During its 2000-year history, it has survived wars, fires, and invasions of barbarians. In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum served as a quarry, and part of its walls were savagely destroyed.
Now there are about 3000 cracks in the walls of the ancient building, so fragments constantly fall off from them. Thus, they have reason to fear that the Colosseum is not eternal and, while there is an opportunity, you need to have time to admire, perhaps, the most grandiose structure of antiquity.
