The Colosseum

The Colosseum was started by the Emporer Vespasian in AD 72 on the grounds of Nero’s private palace and gardens. When it was opened 8 years later it could hold 50,000 people. The Emperor Trajan is said to have held games there lasting 117 days, during which 9,000 gladiators fought to their deaths.

(Trajan was among the emperors who conducted mass persecution of Christians and the Colosseum was the site of thousands of martyrdoms.)

Originally the external walls were covered with travertine, but most of that has been stripped away as building materials over the centuries. Also missing are the marble statues that once filled the niches in the second and third stories.

With the fall of the Empire, the Colosseum became overgrown. Some of the vegetation consisted of exotic plants inadvertently transported from Asia and Africa with the wild animals brought in for the shows. The plants flourished in Rome for centuries.
Eighty entrances allowed the audience to be seated in a matter of minutes.
The underground chambers held animals in cages and sets for various battles, all hoisted up to the arena using pulleys.
Your reserved place in the Colosseum was a clear indication of your rank in the Roman pecking order. Some seats still had the names of the Senators who occupied them carved into the stone. A system of drainage ditches was also carved throughout the structure, eliminating the need to leave the spectacle in order to use the facilities. The Arch of Constantine, a short walk from the Colosseum, was built in AD 312 following his victory in the battle of the Milvian Bridge. (The church historian Eusebius relates the story of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity during the battle. Learn more?) The arch's decorative reliefs were taken from earlier works, probably to speed up construction. Ironically, at least a part of the façade was stripped from the arch celebrating the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96), a notorious persecutor of Christians.