2016 ITALY Rome 23 - Return to the Colosseum (or Colliseum)

This was actually my second trip to Rome. Not sure of the exact date of the first, but around 1975. A co-worker, Sandy Rags, and I took a TWA employee promotional trip here. We were young, single, and carefree. I don't remember many details except we often were  pinched on the behind by male passersby. We stopped at the Colosseum, of course. Sandy took this pix of me with some Italian military cuties.

Today's sightseeing started at the Colosseum. We had a 09:00 pick up and about a half hour drive. Again, drove past Palatine Hill (most central of the Seven Hills of Rome and one of the most ancient developments). One side overlooks Circus Maximus (early chariot racing stadium) and the other side overlooks the Forum (next pix). We would see that later in the day.

Our tickets were pre-purchased, thank goodness, because it was a mob scene. Only 3,000 visitors are allowed in at a time and 20-25,000 per day. I think they were all there at the moment we arrived.

The Colosseum was still a minder-bender the second time around. This was our first view from the parking lot of this magnificent structure.

I'd love to see it at night all lit from the inside.
The name may be derived from colossus or "very large," such as the Colossus of Rhodes statue which was 108 feet (33 meters) tall. And this place was VERY LARGE. In fact, it is the largest amphitheatre EVER built. It originally had 80 entrances; now it as one public entrance (with metal detectors). The dark lines you see here are re-enforcement support. 

This is just after we entered on the circular outer walkway. Photo not clear, as we were hustling along. Each arch is one of the original entrances.

Here is a diagram of the spectator levels. The closer you sat to the center arena, the higher your status in Roman life. Lowest and closest to the action were Emperors, senators, vestal virgins (priestesses of Vesta, the Roman religion goddess of hearth/home/family). Women were seated at the very top. Hrrrumph!

This oval-shaped amphitheater was constructed between 70-80 AD. It was a "gift" to the citizens from Emperor Vespasian after the terrible reign of Nero. Construction funds came from the opulent spoils taken from the Jewish Temple after the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 AD.

The structure is free-standing, unlike most Greek theatres, which were built into a hillside. It is 157 feet (48 meters) high, 615 feet (189 meters) long, 510 feet (156 meters) wide, and covers six acres (almost 2.5 hectares).

It had four centuries of active use and since then two-thirds of the structure has deteriorated from neglect, earthquakes, a fire caused by lightning, and stone-robbers. In recent years it has been cleaned, refurbished, and re-enforced. That work continues.

In its prime, the structure held an average of 65,000, but up to 87,000 spectators. They viewed gladiator contests, celebrations, and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (complete with "lakes" of water), wild animal "hunts," re-enactment of famous battles, and dramas based on classical mythology.

Other "spectator sports" included executions and man-against-fierce-animal challenges. Prisoners were both criminals and sex-symbols. Their possible freedom was based on how long a fight would last. Then the emperor gave a thumbs up or down, for a lighter sentence or full release.

This photo displays the big picture. To give a perspective of the immenseness of the structure, notice how tiny the people look. At the other end, the white-ish new wood floor demonstrates the location of the original arena floor.

The "aisles" at center and below were two levels of passage ways and chambers for backstage business. Some of the enclosed rooms on the sides were vomitoriums. I guess there was a lot of drinking going on in these events. 

I took probably 100 shots altogether of the interior, but narrowing it down here to just a few of the details. Here see the third and top tier added by Emperor Domitian to increase seating capacity.

Whitish-ish platform is where original arena floor was. There were also permanent and moveable awnings to use when it was too sunny. Again, check the people size comparison.

Seating?

Constructed is considered a "dry build." Bricks were hand-made. No cement was used. Incredible!

 Original pavers.

Close-up of highest rim from inside. Notice the difference in construction of the added tier.

We didn't have the upgraded ticket to get into the two lower levels, but you could see it pretty well. This area was called the hypogeum. It was a vast network of tunnels, passage ways, cages, and chambers to house fierce animals, slaves, servants, and prisoners.

Five-hundred men worked in these dungeons. They manipulated vertical and horizontal hoists to move stage settings, trees, and animals to the main arena floor. Animals included exotic birds, elephants, lions, tigers, bears, hyenas, wild boar, wolves, bulls, buffalo, etc. I'm thinking not particularly a fair fight for the guys, but it is estimated that over 7,000 animals were killed here in events.

 

This entire complex was vastly sophisticated and impressive for its time. The architecture was a marvel. I could picture it teaming with excited Roman citizens in traditional toga garb, rather than the many casual tourists like myself drifting around google-eyed.

Read many more details at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum. It is fascinating. It covers construction details, seating arrangements, tickets to get in, various popes' involvement, even what plants grow in the walls!

An aside: This would be our last day with Sabrina, our fabulosa Roma tour guide. She was so animated (like most Italians) that I never did get a great photo of her. Here she is with an interesting book that some in our group purchased at the bookstore.

There are a number of books of this style for various sites within Roma. This one depicted the Colosseum. It was a kind of pop up book that displayed sketch drawings of the "original" Colosseum and then flip a page or two to see how it looked over time. This was an easy way to compare then and now with an occasional interim view.