COLISEUM

The Coliseum, which gets its name from colossal, the immense statue of Nero that once stood nearby, is also known to some as the Flavian Amphitheater, and is undoubtedly on the list of top sights to see in Italy; a spectacular ancient monument whose ruins are visited by millions from around the world every year. The history of the Coliseum dates back to the time of Emperor Vespasian, who ruled Rome from 70 to 79 A.D. His wish was to restore the Roman population with what had been stolen from them by Nero when he expanded his empire earlier on. The Emperor decided to build the Coliseum on the site of the artificial lake in the Domus Aurea, part of Nero's residential palace grounds found on Appian Hill of little which exists today, northeast of the Coliseum. Construction continued by Vespasians older son, Emperor Titus, who dedicated it in 80 A.D. and was carried out yet still by Vespasian's younger son, Domitian, who succeeded Titus as emperor in 81. Measuring 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a height of 47 meters, this three-story arcade is surmounted with a fourth story pierced with window like openings. Of the original 80 entrance arches, only 33 doorways remain. Modern scholars believe that the seating capacity of the Coliseum was near the number of 50,000. The upper part of the Coliseum was originally of wood and was replaced by stone in the early 200's. It is not certain that Christians suffered martyrdom in this amphitheatre for we know that the chapels, which at one time stood in the unexcavated arena, were stations of the Via Crucis and were not built until the eighteenth century. A broad pavement of travertine, a whitish calcium carbonate frequently used as building stone, bordered by travertine posts, once surrounded the entire Colosseum, which was entered through the arches of the lowest arcade. The outer wall and the skeleton of the interior up to the second story were constructed of large blocks of travertine bonded with metal. Elsewhere, softer stones, concrete, and bricks were used. The openings of the surviving arches of the Colosseum are framed with impressive but nonfunctional engaged columns and entablatures of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. The fourth story is decorated with Corinthian pilasters and entablatures. In ancient times, statues filled the spaces of the arches, and metal shields were attached to the spaces between the large windows of the fourth story. Above these windows ran a continuous row of consoles in which sockets were cut for the masts that projected upward through corresponding holes in the cornices. These masts supported awnings used to protect the spectators from the sun. Modifications and restorations necessitated by fires and earthquakes were made to the Colosseum until the early 6th century. In succeeding centuries, the Colosseum suffered from neglect, earthquakes, and damage done by builders. Today, slightly more than one-third of the outer arcades, comprising a number of the arches on the north side, remain standing. The inner skeleton, which supported the cavea, or seating space, is also substantially intact. All marble, stucco, and metal decorations, however, are gone but its mark in history will remain forever.

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