Breathe in. Breathe out. Fasten your seatbelt and let’s travel to Italy in faraway Europe. I am happy to be your pilot and, believe me, this is going to be thrilling.
Italy is a wonderful place to visit: its weather, its people and its people’s delicacies make a perfect trio for fascination. But there is more. And that is its richness in historic and touristic sites – Mount Vesuvius, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Colosseum of Rome, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona among others.
Out of all these awesome structures and landmarks, the Colosseum is the most visited. It receives about a million visitors every year.
The Colosseum is analogous to modern day stadia and revered for its circuitous and daunting structure. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built, standing at 157 ft. It was constructed as early as 80 AD, taking more than 2,000 bullock carts of concrete and sand and a period of ten years to complete. Upon completion, the very first games at Colosseum lasted for 100 days and involved over 3000 gladiator fights during them. The last gladiatorial games were held in 435AD.
Also called the Flavian Amphitheatre (named after the Emperors of the Flavian Dynasty under which amphitheatre was constructed) and arena, it has over 80 entrances and can accommodate about 50,000 spectators. Its west exit was called the ‘Gate of Death’ since it was the exit that dead gladiators were carried out from. The noticeable breach in its southern side was caused by earthquake it suffered in 847.
The Colosseum has over time been a symbol for the good, the bad and the monster.
The monster: The Colosseum is particularly infamous for being a centre for gory scenes such as gladiatorial shows, hunting, and re-enactment of battles. It has been estimated that over 500,000 people lost their lives and over a million wild animals, such as lions, tigers, and even hippopotamuses, were killed at the Colosseum.
The bad: The Colosseum was also a place where racial inequality was reinforced. It was recorded that during events at the Colosseum, marbles would get cold and nobles would send their servants to warm up the seats with their body heat before they got there.
The good: The Colosseum has been used for religious gathering, housing and workshops. More importantly, it has become a symbol of international campaign against the eradication of death penalty. Different anti-death penalty campaigns were held in front of the Colosseum in 2000 and the local authorities of Rome have also used it to encourage this cause by changing the colour of the Colosseum’s night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to death gets his sentence changed or becomes released.
It has been featured in popular movies and used for concerts. The 1972 film, ‘Way of the Dragon,’ Bruce Lee fought Chuck Norris in the Colosseum. Elton John and Ray Charles have performed in front of the Colosseum in 2005 and 2002 respectively. The Vancouer Public Library in British Columbia, Canada, was modelled after the Colosseum.
In another vein, Hollywood movie director Ridley Scott decided to build a replica of Colosseum in Malta for the movie Gladiator over the one too many restrictions and the claim that the Colosseum was not big enough for the movie. The replica in Malta was built for $1 million.
All these factors make Colosseum a place to visit with friends and cameras. Hope you catch the next flight when we travel to another fantastic place. Till then, take care.
