Colosseo

Arguably the most famous monument in the world and a symbol of Rome's greatness, the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum because of the colossal bronze statue depicting Nero that stood nearby, stands in the archaeological heart of the city, and for nearly two thousand years has told an unbroken story of fascination and magnificence.

The Colosseum, which to this day is the largest amphitheater in the world, was commissioned by Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian, who chose the area between the Palatine, Esquiline and Caelian hills, previously occupied by the artificial pond of Nero's Domus Aurea, to build it. Its construction began in 70 AD and ended in 80 AD under the empire of Titus, son of Vespasian. The building, intended for fights, games among gladiators (munera), simulated hunting of ferocious and exotic animals (venationes) and naumachiae (naval combats), consists of four superimposed architectural orders; the first three are formed by eighty arches framed by half-columns, the fourth is divided into panels interspersed with windows. In the last order, masonry and wooden supports were inserted to support an immense tarpaulin (velarium) that served to shelter spectators from sun and rain.

189 meters long, 156 meters wide, and more than 48 meters high, the Colosseum covered an area of 24,000 square meters and could accommodate about 50,000 spectators who could sit in the cavea, formed by brick tiers lined with marble. The arena, which measured 76 by 46 meters, was made of a large wooden board covered with sand.

In the basement of the Colosseum, preparations for performances took place.

Inside them, several trapdoors opened from which men and animals appeared by surprise, lifted by hoists by means of a complex system of winches, which, however, due to the presence of wood and ropes, were destroyed by the fire that severely damaged the entire monument in 217. At certain times of the year it is possible to descend inside the monument, the rooms of which still retain the condition they were in at the end of the fifth century AD, when they were buried.Since then they have not suffered any tampering due to later uses, as was the case with the elevated part of the Amphitheater.

In 438, Valentinian III abolished the gladiatorial games, and the amphitheater underwent a gradual decline that in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance led to its use as a quarry for materials, also used in the construction of St. Peter's Basilica, as a shelter for animals, and as a site for craft workshops and housing.

During the Romantic period, its charm as an ancient ruin attracted literati and artists such as Shelley, Byron, Dickens, Thomas Cole and Henry James. For Stendhal, however, the Colosseum represented "the most beautiful vestiges of the Roman people," a place that "if I had the power, I would be a tyrant, I would make the Colosseum stop during my sojourns in Rome."

It periodically hosts temporary exhibitions and modern performances.

FONTE: https://www.turismoroma.it/it/luoghi/lanfiteatro-flavio-colosseo