the colosseum

 

The Colosseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium) or simply Amphitheatrum (Italian: Amphitheater), located in the center of the city of Rome, is the largest Roman amphitheater in the world.

Able to hold an estimated number of spectators between 50,000 and 87,000, it is the most important Roman amphitheater, as well as the most imposing monument of ancient Rome that has come down to us.

Inserted in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, together with the entire historic center of Rome, the extraterritorial areas of the Holy See in Italy and the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura, in 2007 the complex, the only European monument, was also included among the New Seven Wonders of the World, following a competition organized by New Open World Corporation (NOWC).

The amphitheater was built in the Flavian period on an area on the eastern edge of the Roman Forum.

Its construction, begun by Vespasian in 70 AD, was completed by Titus, who inaugurated it on 21 April in 80 AD. Further changes were made during Domitian's empire, in 90.

The building forms an ellipse of 527 m in perimeter, with axes measuring 187.5 and 156.5 m.

The arena inside measures 86 × 54 m, with an area of ​​3 357 m².

The current height reaches 48.5 m, but originally reached 52 m.

The structure clearly expresses the Roman architectural and construction concepts of the early Imperial Age, based respectively on the curved and enveloping line offered by the elliptical plan and on the complexity of the construction systems.

Arches and vaults are linked together in a close structural relationship.

The name "Colosseum" spread only in the Middle Ages, and derives from the popular deformation of the Latin adjective "colosseum" (which can be translated into "colossal", as it appeared in the Early Middle Ages among the one or two-storey houses) or, more likely, from the proximity of the colossal acrolithic statue of Nero that stood nearby.

Soon the building became a symbol of the imperial city, an expression of an ideology in which the will to celebrate comes to define models for the leisure and entertainment of the people.

In ancient times it was used for gladiator shows and other public events (hunting shows, naval battles, reenactments of famous battles, and dramas based on classical mythology).

No longer in use after the sixth century, the enormous structure was reused variously over the centuries, even as a quarry for material.

Today it is a symbol of the city of Rome and one of its major tourist attractions in the form of an archaeological monument that can be visited regularly.