Where is the Colosseum Located?

Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does;
when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome;
when Rome falls, so will the world.” – Saint Venerable Bede

Salve, which means “hello” in Latin, is the local language of Rome. As we are going on a trip through Rome, why not learn a little. Furthermore, they say, “When in Rome, do like Romans do”, though practically we are not going there and I am out of words so just go with the flow. Shall we?

Rome is well known for its architecture, which holds stories throughout its history. Different monuments under Roman provinces attracted tourists from all over the world. One of them is Colosseum, a massive theatre with amazing and terrifying stories.

Colosseum: Background

The Colosseum is an oval-shaped Amphitheatre in the heart of the city of Rome, Italy. It was built during the first century; the first emperor and the founder of the Flavian dynasty, Vespasian, started the construction in 72AD, which was completed by his first son, Titus, in 80AD and his second son and the younger brother of Titus, Domitian, made further modifications until 82AD during his reign. The Flavian Dynasty ruled the Roman Empire for roughly 28 years. It ended with Domitian as its final heir.

Colosseum: Design

It has an oval-shaped structure with concentric walls. The outer wall stands at 48m with measuring 189m long and 156m wide. The inner wall stands at 5m with measuring 87m long and 55m wide surrounding a plane area ideal for a combat-arena type. The space between these two walls has an inclined series of seating. 

Thus, completing a classical design for an Arena. The walls are made up of concrete bricks, volcanic rocks, and travertine limestone. The Colosseum had an average people holding capacity of 65,000, more or less depending on the events that took place.

Colosseum: Initial Use

It was built as an entertainment venue for Romans, where gladiatorial combats, executions, theatrical performances, Roman plays, animal hunts, and many other things were hosted. They would bring in the criminals, war captives, and volunteer fighters together for different versions of combat. It was for mere entertainment for the spectators, which occasionally comprise politicians and VIPs. 

The battle would continue until one of the fighters bleeds to death or the only survivor turns out victorious. The fighters brought in were mostly those holding a death sentence on their heads. They were sometimes left in the Arena, unarmed with a berserk beast to be torn apart into pieces. At lunchtime, they hosted executions and by the end of the day, held gladiator combats.

Colosseum: Current Reputation and Use

As of today, the Colosseum has become a site for Roman Catholic ceremonies and is enlisted as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World; in addition, it is the biggest amphitheater ever built, and hence is a great tourist attraction. Speaking of every Good Friday, the Pope from the Catholic Church leads a procession at Colosseum.

However, the structure sustained too much damage because of natural disasters, mostly earthquakes, and then throughout the time, rather slow but continued damage kept on to neglect and vandalism. By the end of the 2nd millennium, the structure lost 2/3rd of its design. The Colosseum was restored between 2010-2020. It now has a museum on its outer wall and a passageway beneath the Arena which in past was used for bringing wild beasts and warriors now is open to the public.

Colosseum: Incredible Facts

• Over the period of 400 years of Colosseum’s history, approx. 400,000 people and 1,000,000 animals lost their life, mostly fighting.
• The Colosseum events were meant as a diversion to distract the public from political issues.
• Eventually, the fights became more lethal and lewder to suit the audience’s taste.
• They even hosted mock sea battles for which the Arena was flooded with water for the best experience and observation.

Bottom Line

This very amphitheater had witnessed millions of death. The souls to death entities still lie there; conclusively it is a concentrated spot for the dark side, a talisman for witchcraft, a cursed place to visit during your holidays, just kidding. Actually, Rome is a beautiful city with hundreds of tourist sights. So for anyone to define beauty without visiting Rome at least once would be totally absurd.