When Rome dominated the world, one of the most popular places for Romans to go for entertainment was the Flavian Amphitheater. This huge elliptical stadium could hold crowds of up to 50,000 citizens in the six acres it covered. But it went by another name of Il Colosseo or as we call it, The Colosseum.

From the first century and for centuries after that, the Colosseum was the center of cultural life for Rome, where people came to see brutal games that pitted gladiators against each other or slaves against wild animals with predictable results. As you tour the stadium, very little remains to remind us of those spectacles except for the vaults and tunnels under the Colosseum that were used to store the animals, and for the gladiators and fighters to enter the facility for their part in the show.

Over the millennia, the Colosseum has suffered with earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters. But even in decay, you still get a sense of the phenomenal glory and importance of this building to the Roman society.

When you visit the Colosseum and see how large it is from the top of the structure 157 feet up, you can almost see the huge spectacles that happened there so many years ago as though they just happened last week. Of course the days when slaves and warriors and lions passed through those red brick arches that are now crumbling are far in the past. But as you walk the passageways of this fascinating Roman attraction, you can sense the ghosts of those who fought there in the past mixing with the other tourists around you.

The layout of the stadium is by layers – each of which has a great view of the different levels of arches all around the huge space of the Colosseum. As you sit on those ancient seats, it’s easy to hear from the past the crowd explode with excitement when the Emperor came in with his entourage through one of the four gates that were only for him. There are 76 other entrances around the stadium that average citizens of Rome were allowed to use.

It took 15,000 slaves and designers to build this huge structure before it finally opened for use in 80 AD. The title, “The Colosseum” that we know the stadium by, was taken from a famous statue that stood on the grounds that was called “The Colossus.” At one time people thought this statue was made in the image of Nero but in fact over the life of the Roman Empire, it bore a likeness to each emperor during his reign. Today you can still find the base that The Colossus stood on not far from the site between the Colosseum and the Temple of Roman and Venus.

The opening of the Colosseum was a gala event and the initial schedule reflected that excitement with 100 days of nonstop revelry by royalty and barbarians alike. Games that we witness in movies made about the time were common including gladiator slaves battling to the death and a brutal form of Roman lion taming that would never be approved in our modern culture.

Seating in the Colosseum was assigned by your rank and status in society. The Emperor had the best seat near the base of the facility and the highest levels were left for women who were not part of the royal party. But there were no bad seats because from any of the 50,000 seats, you could see the combat unfold. And the spectacular display of elephants, hippopotami and other exotic animals that became part of the grand show along with the great cats that were used for combat made for a diversion that kept the Roman people excited and anticipating the next big performance.

To this day engineers do not know how designers at that time were able to develop the masts and velarium that made up the canopy that covered a massive area to provide shade during the games. Those canopies have long ago decayed so the answer may also have been swallowed up by time. But you can admire the elegant and powerful columns of the arena made of Doric on the lowest level, or Ionic on the second tier and finally with Corinthian on the third level of the arena.

While it’s understandable that tourists are amazed at even these remains of that once mighty building, it is also greatly admired and even copied by stadium designers of modern times. The Colosseum set the standard as the first and the largest and the most famous stadium of its type at the time. Before it was built, arenas were comparatively simple structures dug out of hillsides. You can still find remnants of those stadiums around Rome on your visit if you are interested.

Your visit to Rome will be a fulfilling experience for sure if you include a trip to the Colosseum.

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