The Colosseum - outside

The Colosseum

If you ever get the chance to go to Rome then you must visit the Colosseum. The Colosseum is an amazing ancient stadium that fits 50,000 people. It is infact a amphitheatre and definitely one of the places I enjoyed most while in Rome. Whether inside or out of the Colosseum if you closed your eyes you can really imagine the roar and cheers of the 50,000 crowd almost 2000 years ago.

Let me give you a quick fun fact about the difference between the Greek Theatre and Roman Ampitheatre . The Greek are genius as they invented athe Theatre, the Romans however took on the idea of Theatre and made it to be a multi-level one (thus the name ‘Ampi-theatre’) to fit in more people and to provide greater visibility to the main stage.

The Colosseum boxed seats has a toilet facilitis, refreshment sands and giant retractable sail to act as a roof. The ancient people has thought about all these – simply Amazing! The theatre was used to host a sporting events, I am talking about Gladiators fighting exotic animals from all over the world such as panthers, hippopotami, and crocodiles. The Gladiators were also pitted against each other as seen in Russel Crowe’s movie of The Gladiators.

Inside the Colosseum - still well preserved, the stage floor (beneath it is where the 'change room' and exotic animals being caged ready to be released for the fights)

The Colosseum was built in AD 72 by Emperor Vespasian and finished by hi son in AD 80. On the west side is the triumphal arch built to honour Constantine following his victory over his rival Maxentius at the battle of Milivian Bridge in AD 312.

Mai with triumphal arc on the back ground

Triumphal Arch built to honour Constantine

 If you do visit The Colosseum, here is a tip to jump in the queue. You have to pay 8 euro extra on top of your entrance ticket but I rather that than waiting –  What you need to do is join a guide group. This also allow you (besides jumping the queue) to have a guide that will explain everything about the Colosseum. Trust me, its worth every cents, as you will get to learn about Rome’s greatest monument in more detail – it also saves you from flicking through the pages of a guide book and let you to spend more time enjoying this amazing architecture.

The Roman Forum

The Roman Forum - as seen from The Colosseum

Within 5-10  minutes walk from The Colosseum, you can visit the dawn of Western civilisation at the Roman Forum. The Forum was the political, religious and social centre of the Roman world.  It is ashamed that by the medieval days, the buildings were plundered for their precious marble. Many temples and buildings were converted to other uses.

The Roman Forum

One of the many temples in The Roman Forum

Related posts:

1. Rome – Churches
2. Vizi Capitali – Rome, Italy
3. Rome – Piazza del Popolo and The Pantheon
4. Rome – Trevi Fountain
5. Rome – Piazza Navona