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ROME
Monuments
The Colosseum (Piazza del Colosseo)
Begun by order of Vespasiano in 72 A.D., on the site of the Domus Aurea of Nero, the great amphitheatre was finished by his son Titus, eight years later.
It was called Colosseum because of the gigantic statue of Nero that was erected nearby, with the help of 24 elephants. It is the greatest monument of antiquity: elliptical in shape, with a circumference of 527 meters, the major axis of 188 meters, the minor one of 156 meters, the maximum height 57 meters.
The total length of the stands is 30,000 meters, the seats numbered 68,000, standing places 5000.
The public entered the arena, divided into four levels, through four entrances and 80 arcades, numbered progressively. Entrance was free for everyone, but the places were subdivided according to the census: for senators were reserved the places nearest the arena.
Thousands of men and animals were massacred there solely for the pleasure of the crowd massed in the stands.
In the fifth century the emperor Onorius prohibited the gladiatorial games and successively the Colosseum belonged to the Frangipane, who used it as a castle-fortress, and then to the Annibaldi. In 1312 Henry VII gave the amphitheatre back to the city.
In 1451 the pope took away part of the building materials for the stairway at Saint Peter's and the door at Ripetta. Within the amphitheatre there were houses, shops, a cemetery, a church, a theatre, and a hospital. From the highest levels one has a beautiful panorama of Rome, especially of the Forum. |
