If you have planned to visit Rome in your Rome travel during the high season, you can not miss the visit to the ancient Rome and its ruins: at the end of your walk inside the Roman forum you will see the elliptical shape of the most famous stadium in the ancient world.



The Coliseum, (the Flavian Amphitheatre) is one of Rome's most famous buildings and enduring monuments to the culture of the ancient Romans. Construction was started during the Emperor Vespasian around 72 AD. His son Titus reigned over its completion and the official opening ceremonies, about 8 years later, in 80 AD. It was built near the site of Nero's lake which was part of the Golden House. This is significant in that his successor, Vespasian wanted to erase the memory of Nero's extravagant reign from the minds of Romans. It got its popular name, the Colosseum, because of Nero's colossus (120 ft. high) statue of himself, which was nearby.

The huge theater was originally built on four floors. The first three had arched entrances, while the fourth floor utilized rectangular doorways. The floors each measured between 10,5-13,9 meters (32-42 feet) in height. The total height of the construction was approximately 48 meters (144 feet). The arena measured 79 x 45 meters (237-135 feet), and consisted of wood and sand.

The Colosseum had a total spectator capacity of 50,000. The Amphitheater is built of travertine outside, and of tufa and brick in the interior. The main pedestals were built of marble blocks weighing 5 metric tons (11,000 pounds.) Initially the huge marble blocks were held together by metal-pins. However, the pins were soon carried off by thieves, and had to be replaced by mortar. The total amount of marble needed for the construction measured approximately 100,000 cubic meters. It was carried by 200 ox-pulled carts, which supplied a sufficient flow of needed materials.

There were no less than 76 numbered entrances and 4 additional entrances divided like the cardinal points. The Colosseum was designed for easy crowd dispersal; the entire audience could exit the building in five minutes. The interior was divided into three parts: the arena, the podium, and the cavea. Now more than two-thirds of the original building has been removed and the rows of the seats in the cavea are missing. It is very similar to other amphitheaters except this one is much bigger.

We suppose to believe that this building was used for entertainment for around 400 years when under the emperor Dietrich from the Ostrogoth were celebrated there the last games.

A good way to organize a Rome tour is planning also a Tiber River cruise to discover its bridges.

A wooden floor covered subterranean chambers where the gladiators and animals were kept waiting to perform. There is some debate over the idea that the Colosseum was occasionally flooded for mock naval battles. There were canals in place that could have been used for this purpose but the brick used in construction was not the same type of material that they normally used in water resistant materials.

Actually the visitors of the Coliseum can reach with their own guide the second floor using a modern elevator inaugurated for the Jubilee of the year 2000.

The Coliseum was the Empire's primary stage for gladiatorial combat for nearly 4 centuries. In a show of Rome's wealth and extravagance, during the opening ceremonies in 80 AD, 100 days of the games were held.

Sightseeing in Rome means to discover 3000 years of history and if you want to know more about Rome and some travel tips about Italy from your Rome hotel don't miss to do it with a reliable Rome private driver guide.