The Roman Colosseum

It is difficult to find a person who in our time has not heard anything about him. This is one of the most grandiose buildings in the whole era of human existence, recognized by all the symbol of the Roman Empire. It's about the famous Amphitheater Colosseum in Italy (Rome).

Amphitheater of the Colosseum in Rome: history and interesting facts
The Colosseum in Rome was built in 80 AD under the Roman emperor Titus of the Flavian clan. The construction itself was called the Flavian amphitheater. The place for the construction was chosen the Golden House of Nero, more precisely its artificial lake, located in the city of Rome. The erection of the building took only 8 years.

The coliseum from Latin means colossal. It is not surprising that this name ousted the official version of the amphitheater among the people. And although the ancient Roman architects by this time it was already difficult to surprise the erection of huge amphitheatres, the Colosseum in Rome surpassed all its competitors in order and quickly became associated as a new wonder of the world.The size of the building is impressive. The oval-shaped arena occupies a platform of 86 by 54 meters, the entire building has a diameter of 156 and 188 meters, a wall height of 48 meters. 80 entrances and 50 thousand seats confirmed the colossal nature of the Flavian amphitheater.

The architect of the building was Quintus Aterius. For the construction of such a huge structure, slave labor was used. Erection went on day and night.
The building was erected on a 13-meter concrete foundation, which was executed in a drained lake. Reliability of the structure was ensured by a frame made up of 80 radial walls and 7 circular walls.

What is the Colosseum built from? During the construction of the Colosseum in Italy, a variety of materials were used: marble - seats, travertine - ring walls, concrete and tuff - radial walls, brick - arches. Separately, was made of marble.In its original form, the Colosseum amphitheater had 3 floors. At the first was the emperor's bed and marble places for the senate. On the second floor were installed marble benches, intended for citizens of Ancient Rome. On the third floor there were places for all other spectators, made in the form of wooden benches and simply standing places. In the II century the last fourth floor was completed.

The arena of the Roman Colosseum on bad days (heat or rain) could be closed by a tent stretched on the masts. It is worth noting the floor of the arena itself. It was made of wood, usually covered with a layer of sand, and was ... mobile. For carrying out sea battles the arena could be filled with water from a suitable aqueduct.

The main purpose of the Colosseum in Rome was to conduct gladiatorial fights. The arena of the amphitheater allowed to accommodate up to 3 thousand soldiers. In history, the celebration of the opening of the Colloseum stands out, which lasted as much as 100 days. In addition to the gladiatorial fights, hunting scenes were arranged here, with special decorations put out of the wooden floor. Another date in the history of the Flavian amphitheater is the celebration of the Millennium of Rome in 249. Thousands of gladiators and animals also died here. The end of the bloody massacres was laid only in 405.

With the fall of the great Roman Empire, the building of the Amphitheater of the Colosseum in Italy began to decline and began to collapse. In the Middle Ages the Colosseum is mentioned as a castle. In the Revival, local residents began to dismantle the amphitheater for the construction of local structures. Even later, homeless people found shelter here.The end of the overgrowth and destruction of the Amphitheater of the Colosseum was laid in the 18th century by Pope Benedict XIV. On his initiative, a cross was erected in memory of the spilled blood, and church activities began. And in our time on Good Friday there is the Way of the Cross, uniting thousands of Christian believers.

And although today the Colosseum in Rome is half destroyed, it still makes a huge impression and with dignity holds the title of the symbol of Rome.