The most important monument from ancient Rome. It was begun in 72 A.D. under Vespasian who filled in the Stagnum Neronis (a lake near Nero's villa) in the Domus Aurea. In 80 A.D., the
Colosseum was inaugurated under Titus and during the festivities, which according to historians lasted 3 months, an enormous number of gladiators and 5,000 ferocious animals were slain. The huge amphitheatre was normally used for bloody spectacles such as gladiator fights or venationes (hunting wild beasts) until after 400, when the Emperor Honorius abolished them. Severly damaged by an earthquake in the middle of the 5th century , it was turned into a fortress and during the Middle Ages served as the source of building materials to erect monuments and buildings for numerous popes. The Colosseum as we see it today gives only a very hazy idea of its former splendor. Its external dimensions are as follows: 188 metres, the major axis; 156 metres, the minor axis; 527 metres in circumference; the tiers are 57 metres tall. The building is elliptical in form, with four stories, three of which have arches on pillars defining niches wich contained marble statues portraying a divinity or famous person;
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the fourth storey, with greater distances between the windows, is decorated with pilasters and corbels. The exterior was completely covered with marble. There were four main entrances directly into the arena, while the numerous arcades gave access to the different seats. The interior. which could hold up to 50.000 spectators, is composed of a raised platform and three tiers of seats. The Emperor.s box was on the raised platform (or podium) running right round the arena, and was reserved solely for his use. The Senators. government officials and the Vestal Virgins also sat here. The first tier was for knights and tribunes; the second for citizens; while the third tier and the gallery were for the lower classes. In the arena (which measures 76 x 46 metres) the areas taken up by the lifts used to transport the animals from the underground cages where they were kept until the spectacle began, are still visible. The lifts were operated by hand by the condemned. The wooden cross in the centre of the arena was put there by Pope Pius IX to sanctify the area. The upper galleries can be visited using a modern stairway. |
