| Albergo Ottocento - The Main Monuments in Rome: Colosseo |
| It is a marvellous architectural complex
that doesn't find examples in Roman art. Its real name is
Flavian Amphitheater. It was built in 72 A.D. by an unknown
architect. The Coliseum rises among the Palatine hill, the
Celian hill and the Oppian hill. Its construction was begun by
emperor Vespasian and was completed by his son Titus in 80 A.D.
At first, in the amphitheater, gladiatorial shows, consisting in
fights to the death between men and beasts, took place: it is
there that, later on, the first Christians were cruelly killed
by beasts. Afterwards the Coliseum was neglected, which provoked
its rapid deterioration. Pope Benedetto XIV's edict consecrated
it to the memory of the Christian martyrs, putting an end to its
slow destruction. In 1808 it was restored by Pope Pious VII. The
Coliseum consists of four floors: the first three of them have
80 holes shaped like archs, while the fourth is taller than the
others and is characterized by a more compact building mass with
windows. The archs are separated by pillars with semi-columns of
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian order. Inside, the staircases had a
capacity of around 50.000 people, who, in case of bad weather,
were sheltered by a system of coverage consisting of striped
cloth, maneuvered by one hundred sailors. It is the greatest
amphitheater of the Roman world. Car: 2.5 km, 9 min Mix: 150 mt, 10 min Foot: 2 km, 30 min |
