The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

The Colosseum

Some world landmarks need little or no introduction- and the Colosseum in Rome is certainly one of them. The city is full of Roman monuments, but for the sheer scale and awe-inspiring beauty not much comes near to matching the Colosseum.

The Colosseum It has become a symbol both of the city itself and of the glories (however infamous) of the ancient world.

Begun in AD72 by the emperor Vespasian, in part as a gift to the public of Rome to extinguish the memory of Nero, this colossal structure took just 8 years to complete using stone quarried in nearby Tivoli. 50,000 workers toiled on the project.

For its inauguration, the emperor Titus, the son of Vespasian, organised 100 days’ worth of entertainment and games during which 9000 animals were slaughtered. (PETA wasn’t around then, clearly.) The main draw for the Romans was that of gladiatorial combat. Famously and much depicted in popular culture- see the film Gladiator (2000) for example- the gladiators would be schooled in different forms of combat and forced, in heavy armour, to fight an opponent who was less well protected and more able… the winner of which, if standing over a prostrate opponent would force the public vote of the crowd- a valiant performance could spare his life.

The bloodlust of events performed at the Colosseum- the wooden flooring was covered in sand to soak up the blood- would, as Christianity becan to take root over the empire, see this form of combat steadily decline in popularity and eventually be abolished in 404AD.

The Colosseum struggled on for 120 years or so for animal games, falling into demise and disrepair after that. Yet it is a testament to the structure and its solidity that the Colosseum remains, although bruised from years of pollution, neglect and, er, the Metro line running underneath.

Built to house 70,000 spectators, the Colosseum is a model stadium and is not too dissimilar to stadia found around the sporting world today. It is Rome’s most iconic landmark and a magnet for tourists in the city.

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