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Coliseum St. Peter's Basilica Vatican Museums Sistine Chapel Trevi Fountain Spanish Steps Piazza Navona Piazza Venezia Roman Forum Ancient Rome Pantheon St. Ignazio Cat Sanctuary Other European Cities |
The ColiseumThe coliseum was commissioned by the Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in the reign of Domitian between 81 AD and 96 AD. The coliseum was used for gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights which were staged free of charge by the emperor and wealthy citizens for public viewing as a way of demonstrating their wealth and power. It was built with 80 arched entrances and internal corridors allowing the 55,000 strong crowd to move freely and to be seated within ten minutes of arriving at the Colosseum. In 404 A.D. gladiatorial combats were banned and in 523 A.D. wild animal fights were banned. With the end of the Roman Empire, the coliseum fell into disuse, much of the decoration outside the coliseum including the travertine blocks were taken away and recycled by the popes. In 1893-6 the structure below the area was revealed to show the network of underground rooms and corridors where the animals were kept. Nearby lies the Arch of Constantine which is in excellent condition but is dwarfed by the Coliseum.
The three tiers of arcades are faced by three-quarter columns and entablatures, Doric in the first story, Ionic in the second, and Corinthian in the third. Above them is an attic story with Corinthian pilasters and small square window openings in alternate bays. At the top brackets and sockets carry the masts from which the velarium, a canopy for shade, was suspended. The construction utilized a careful combination of types: concrete for
the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill between
piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced concrete
used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults. The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. The plan is a vast ellipse, measuring externally 188 m x 156 m (615 ft x 510 ft), with the base of the building covering about 6 acres. Vaults span between eighty radial walls to support tiers of seating and for passageways and stairs. The facade of three tiers of arches and an attic story is about 48.5
m (158 ft) tall — roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story building.
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