Italy 2006

Rome & the Colosseum | 16 Jul 2006

It was our first morning in Rome and by early morning it was already hot. We decided to walk to the Colosseum from our hotel, we didn't realise how far it actually was. When we got there Graham and I paid to have a tour guide show us through, Nigel, Colin and Doreen went on their own. This structure was built 75 years after Christ which is something that I find to be totally amazing. The Colosseum was built to hold 50 thousand spectators! Under the centre arena, there were tunnels and cages for animals, they also installed lifts so that the animals could been taken above ground. They had animals from all around the world, which were used for fighting. There were three fighting time slots during the day at the colosseum - first animals against animals, second animals against humans, third human against human (the gladitors). The gladitor fights were the most popular. There were no Christians killed at the Colosseum, these took place at Circus Maximus and other smaller arenas. But a cross in honour of the many Christians who have died has been placed in the Colosseum. There was once a huge canvas roof that would cover the whole Colosseum to protect the spectators from the sun. It was held there by large wooden poles at the top and then ropes would be tied at the base. Parts of the Colosseum were taken away by the Romans themselves and used in other areas of the city, such as the Vatican City. We also wandered around the ruins of the early Roman Forum, much of this area has now been fenced off to prevent people from climbing on the structures. We went to visit the war memorial as well. You are forbiden to sit on the steps leading up the memorial, we saw a few people who were told off because they were sitting down.

Locations Visited: Rome

Add Comment

Comment Policy:

Only signed in members can comment on journal entries. Please sign in now or register if you would like to leave a comment. Comments are sent to the owner of this journal for approval before being made live on the site.