While we enjoyed seeing the outside of the Colosseum at all different times of the day, we only saw the inside once during a tour (we're not big tour fans, but this one was worth the price because we got to skip the long lines). It truly is spectacular and an engineering marvel. Amazingly, it took 20,000 slaves just 8 years to build this stadium for over 50,000 spectators. In an effort to appease the public who were upset over high taxes, the Emperor offered free fights of gladiators (surprisingly, both men and women) and wild animals (lions, hippos, elephants and zebras). The ground was covered in sand to help soak up the blood. The two floors below ground housed the slaves and animals. The stadium was greatly damaged by quakes in the 400's after the gladiator combats were banned. While today the ruins are mostly exposed brick, originally everything was covered in marble. Much of the marble was recycled by the Popes and can be seen in St. Peter's Basilica.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
The Colosseum...
While we enjoyed seeing the outside of the Colosseum at all different times of the day, we only saw the inside once during a tour (we're not big tour fans, but this one was worth the price because we got to skip the long lines). It truly is spectacular and an engineering marvel. Amazingly, it took 20,000 slaves just 8 years to build this stadium for over 50,000 spectators. In an effort to appease the public who were upset over high taxes, the Emperor offered free fights of gladiators (surprisingly, both men and women) and wild animals (lions, hippos, elephants and zebras). The ground was covered in sand to help soak up the blood. The two floors below ground housed the slaves and animals. The stadium was greatly damaged by quakes in the 400's after the gladiator combats were banned. While today the ruins are mostly exposed brick, originally everything was covered in marble. Much of the marble was recycled by the Popes and can be seen in St. Peter's Basilica.
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