The Colosseum - Rome, Italy
The Colosseum was the symbol of the power of Rome at one point:
“Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma;
Quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma
Quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus.”
– by Bede, 8th century
(meaning: As long as the Colosseum stands, Rome shall stand; if the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall. And when Rome falls, the world falls).
The Colosseum is an amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Its construction started between 70 and 72 AD and was completed around 81 – 96 AD. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. With 80 entrances, it was designed so that all 80,000 spectators could exit within 15-20 minutes. That alone is a wonder in itself. How they came up with the evacuation design is any one’s guest. In modern world, we need complicated algorithm and/or computers to figure this out, but the Romans managed to do this all by themselves without any help from any software, almost 2000 years ago!
In 80AD, Emperor Titus held an inaugural party, which lasted 100 days. The opening games included a gladiatorial contest, a wild-beast hunt, a horse race, and a re-enacted naval battle between 3,000 men, followed by an infantry battle…just in the first 3 days. At the end of the 100th day, a total of 5000 animals were brutally killed. Many wild exotic animals went extinct during this period.
Today, the Colosseum is a background to the busy metropolis that is modern Rome. Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Some performers who have played at the Colosseum were Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).
To follow the tradition, every year Roman Catholic Pope led a public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday. Originally, the Pope John Paul II himself carried the cross from station to station, but in his last years when age and infirmity limited his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on the Palatine Hill, while others carried the cross. Just days prior to his death in 2005, Pope John Paul II observed the Stations of the Cross from his private chapel. Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations. Past composers of the Papal Stations include several non-Catholics. The Pope himself wrote the texts for the Great Jubilee in 2000 and used the traditional Stations.
In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum’s night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released, or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Mexico in April 2009.
On our most recent trip to Rome in June 2011, we took a special guided tour of the Colosseum’s Underground and Third Tier. On this tour, we descended to the dark depths under the world’s biggest ancient amphitheater, and climbed the steep steps to its highest (existing) level to admire the majestic views over the arena and the magnificent ruins of the Roman Forum and Arch of Constantine next door (panorama-10.JPG & panorama-1.JPG). These parts of the Colosseum had never before open to the public until very recently. Click here to read about the details of the tour, pictures, and how to book.
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