Colosseum, Rome

THE COLOSSEUM

WOW! Has to be my first sentiment when I entered this vast and beautiful structure that the Italians have tried so hard to preserve!! (and rightly so.) I felt a little pang of history as I walked under the archways and into the main arena. A lot of the main floor is gone now so you can look down and see the labyrinths where the slaves and beasts were kept until the next show began. It was a surreal experience that I ...
...WHERE?
The Colosseum is in Rome, Italy and very easy to get to. All taxi drivers know how to get there although don't expect that to be cheap. Especially if you have a pram as they charge extra in Italy for any luggage. There is a metro stop and bus stop right outside of the Colosseum and you can get an all day ticket for the metro to go anywhere in Rome for only 4 euros. The bargain is you can also use this all day ticket on the busses and ... more

THE COLOSSEUM

WOW! Has to be my first sentiment when I entered this vast and beautiful structure that the Italians have tried so hard to preserve!! (and rightly so.) I felt a little pang of history as I walked under the archways and into the main arena. A lot of the main floor is gone now so you can look down and see the labyrinths where the slaves and beasts were kept until the next show began. It was a surreal experience that I rate 5/5 and would recommend to anyone.

WHERE?
The Colosseum is in Rome, Italy and very easy to get to. All taxi drivers know how to get there although don't expect that to be cheap. Especially if you have a pram as they charge extra in Italy for any luggage. There is a metro stop and bus stop right outside of the Colosseum and you can get an all day ticket for the metro to go anywhere in Rome for only 4 euros. The bargain is you can also use this all day ticket on the busses and trams. Unfortunately because the busses, metro and trams are usually very busy and it was a bank holiday weekend when we were there we opted for the more expensive taxi option. If I had been on my own without baby then I would have braved public transport but I didn't want to risk getting bumped about with Isabelle in my arms. I will warn you that the roads and driving in Rome are very aggressive and a little scary at times as everyone cuts everybody up and they are generally only bothered about themselves, NOTE: Always wear your seatbelt. It is located on marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills.

WHY?
The Colosseum is built by Romans although the particular architect is unknown. Its estimated year of construction is the year 70AD and it is built of masonry and cut stone. The building itself is visible from quite a distance and there are many little café's situated on the outskirts of the Colosseum. When we arrived Isabelle was due a feed and so we stopped at one of the café's across the road from the Colosseum. It felt like a dream being sat on a lovely hot day with a cold glass of coke outside the most beautiful building I personally have ever seen. The history of the Colosseum is amazing and it was definitely awe inspiring to be there and see it in the flesh, so to speak. All the pictures in the world cannot prepare you for the views you will take in.

WHO?
My only worry about going to the Colosseum was that I had Isabelle in a pram and my dad who is disabled and thus uses a walking stick to get around. I imagined hundreds of stairs to climb to see it from all angles and I'm not sure they had disabled access laws in the year 70?? The Italians however have done a fine job in ensuring that anyone who wants to see this building can. There are specially installed elevators to take you up and down floors and all of the viewable parts of the Colosseum have ramps leading to and from them. I didn't use the lift as I have a slight fear of them anyway and the idea of using one in a building that has to use scaffolding to hold it up frankly scares the beejesus out of me. My dad did use the lift and was fine which is a great relief. Anyone can go for a cost of 10 euros though they didn't charge us for Isabelle which is nice. You can have a guided tour for 3 euros fifty cents or tour guides tout for your business outside of the Colosseum. We chose to go round on our own but after entering I can understand why the extra few euros would have made a difference. It is massive and it's hard to know where to start. Plus I could overhear another tour and it would have been nice to have been told about the history of the Colosseum as we walked round, oh well. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

HOW?
Queuing wasn't half as bad as it looked so if you do go and you see massive queues don't let them put you off. I thought we would be queuing for hours and it took less than 10 minutes. There are two queues, one for organised tours, schools etc. and one for individuals. As I mentioned disabled access was not a problem and all the ramps were very wide. We paid at the ticket office and then walked through a massive archway that leads you straight into the main arena. All around you are archways and crumbling walls which almost add to the effect of the piece of history that you are viewing. Some of the large arch windows have been bricked up with stone closely matching the original, this is in order to preserve the crumbling walls above them and some walls have scaffolding supporting them. It is obvious that they are trying hard to preserve their culture which can only be a good thing and this is definitely a structure worth preserving.

When you look down over the barriers which have been put up to prevent you falling you can view the remains of the mazes where people were kept and when you look up you can see areas which used to be seating areas. You can go as high as the second tier but anything higher than that would be too unstable to warrant tourists trampling all over it so there is no way of getting any higher. Not unless you fancy a bit of mountaineering while you're there but I don't think that they would look too kindly on you for that!!

WHEN?
We travelled there on May 2nd, Bank Holiday Monday here and the weather there was beautiful. It was 28 degrees and a local was telling us that in three weeks time it will be almost unbearable as apparently it is very humid. I think we went at about the right time as I'm not good with the heat and obviously we have baby Isabelle to think about but if you like a really hot summers day then anytime would be good. The weather starts to get a bit rainy and cold over Christmas and the earlier months of the year but by April it is apparently beautiful. Unless you love scorching though I would definitely not recommend going in the lunchtime sun. Leave it a bit later or get up early and go before the heat sets in.

HISTORY
The construction of the Colosseum began in the reign of Emperor Vespasian.
The first permanent amphitheatre to be built in Rome it took over 8 years to build the Colosseum. Its size and grandeur along with its practical organization for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the greatest architectural pieces achieved by the Romans. There was enough seating for over 50,000 spectators and 80 entrances so that crowds could arrive and leave quickly. The colosseum is actually an ellipse and measures 188m by 156m which means that the base of the building covers around 6 acres of land. There are 80 walls built to support vast amounts of seating, vaults for passageways and stairs. There are three tiers and then above them what is classed as an attic tier which boasts large square windows in every alternate bay.

The Colosseum used to be used for a variety of shows that were put on to entertain the Roman population. Its existence proves both the amazing skills but also the cruelty of the ancient roman world. Citizens of Rome could enjoy the shows and games for free as they were put on by the emperor and the nobility to get social consensus and distract them from bigger issues. The games originally started as religious rites and so were governed by laws but when the production of the games was taken over by prominent citizens the religious sentiments to the games was all but forgotten. Fights between Gladiators, beasts and chariot races are just a few of the things that used to take place here. Condemned criminals were often put in the amphitheatre with the beasts and this often resulted in their execution.

THE GAMES
The HUNT
Essentially this is exactly what it says on the tin. The beasts, ranging from elephants to lions were let out into the stadium, originally attached to chains but later set free amongst the arena and the Gladiators had to hunt them down and kill them or be killed. The walls separating the crowds from the beasts had to be built up and have rollers put on top of them to stop any animals climbing over and attacking the crowds.

The GLADIATORS
Gladiators were mostly convicted criminals and after the revolt of a group of Gladiators led by Spartacus in 73BC all Gladiators had to belong to a school. The Gladiators Schools were considered so safe that they could be located in the city and Gladiators would train. Soldiers watched the Gladiators and monitored as and when they could be given their weapons. The only chance a Gladiator had of freedom was to fight so brilliantly that a prominent figure would notice them and reverse their fate.

AD BESTIAS
In this cruel and gruelling 'game' the condemned person/criminal would usually be tied to a pole and the beats be set free to maul them to their death.

SILVAE
The Silvae was basically a reconstruction of forest scenery whereby trees and other foliage would be transported into the colosseum and then numerous exotic animals would be set free to roam amongst the scenery. In a more malicious version of this a man would be set out there with them and usually killed.

The NAUMACHIAE
In this amazing reconstruction the Colosseum was flooded with water and naval battle scenes were re-enacted. Again the actors were generally criminals who were condemned to death and the scenes were usually of historical battles. The first Naumachiae was commissioned by Julius Caesar to celebrate his victory in Egypt. These shows were particularly expensive.

The Colosseum has such a vast history that I could write a book. I have included a lot of the basics in this review but all other information I found would not be in my own words and so I have decided to include some links to useful sites that can give you a more detailed description of some of the activities that once took place here.

www.the-colosseum.net
www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/colosseum

OVERALL

When I visited the Colosseum I was struck down with amazement by its vast structure and its sheer beauty as an archaeological piece of history. I am not a lover of archaeology and not a big traveller so for me to be so taken aback by something like this is brilliant. It has given me the travelling bug and I really want to travel around now and see more things like this in the world. If you're going to Italy then I would definitely recommend visiting this. In fact even if you're not planning a trip if you can afford a cheap break then a 2 hour flight and 20 minute taxi ride is well worth it to visit this. You can also see numerous other historical pieces in the same vicinity such as an old Roman town and a beautiful arch way covered in statues. All of the café's surrounding the Colosseum seemed pleasant, we stopped at a couple and had food at one and the food was beautiful, the service friendly and the drinks cold which is exactly what we wanted.

To be honest I wasn't exactly sure what to include in this review as it is my first review on travel. I hope I have done it justice but just in case I have included a few pictures at the bottom so you can see for yourself.

Thanks for Reading
Be Good
Jayne x x x

 

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