Colosseum, Roma

The Colosseum should be in a bucket list to see in Rome. It have quite a history about things what was hapening there and those fazy.cts are exiting and even pretty cra.

Pay attention that this place is really crowded (most people say this) so be prepared. There's also so many street vendors trying to force sell you gadgets, bracelets and so on that its unpleasant, being overly pushy.

Not sure about taking guide maybe need, maybe not (many people say it is too long and not really good), so it was easy to go by ourselves and check in free atmosphere and way faster too.

Personally I don't think that this is most interesting building in Rome, good to see but not the wonder I expected. Maybe because I already been in Greece before i did visit Rome and Greece got way more impressive buildings and special energy in them.

So here are 18 interesting facts from history about Colosseum

1. The Colosseum was built between 72 A.D and 80 A.D under the Emperor Vespasian, in the heart of Ancient Rome.
2. Made from stone and concrete, this magnificent monument was built with the man power of tens of thousands of slaves.
3. The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater (meaning “theatre in the round”) in the world! Oval in shape, it measures 189m long, wide with a base area of 24,000 m² and more then 48m high (about the height of a 12 storey building). This ancient sporting arena could easily fit a modern day football pitch inside!
4. Colosseum building had 80 entrances and could seat about 50,000 spectators who would come to watch games and those sporting events. These events included combats, wild animal hunts and, believe it or not, even ship naval battles!
5. All Ancient Romans had free entry to the Colosseum for events – often those organised and paid for by the emperors themselves – there was no entry fee. And free food was served, too. Kinda nice Bonus! Emperors would use this as a way to gain popularity and support from then.
6. The first games ever to be held were in 80 A.D, under Emperor Titus (the son of Vespasian), and they ran for 100 days straight. Games continued to be held for centuries to come – gladiatorial games until the fifth century and animal hunts until the 6th century.
7. Many natural disasters devastated the structure of the Colosseum, but it was the earthquakes of 847 AD and 1231 AD that caused most of the damage you see today. Although two-thirds of the colosseum has been destroyed over time – mostly the result of vandalism, earthquakes and fires – it is today a popular tourist site, attracting thousands of people every year!
8. The Colosseum was built by Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, for Titus, his successor.
9. It is thought that over 500,000 people lost their lives and over a million wild animals were killed throughout the duration of the Colosseum hosted people vs. beast games.
10. Below the Colosseum were numerous rooms and underground passages. Here is where the animals and gladiators were kept, waiting to meet their fate in the arena above. There were also 36 trap doors in the arena for special effects!
11. Rome´s most popular monument was built for three reasons. As a gift to the Roman Citizens from the Flavian Dynasty to increase their popularity, to stage various forms of entertainment, and to showcase Roman engineering techniques to the world.
12. The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as animal hunts, mock sea battles, re-enactments of famous battles, executions and dramas.
13. In 107 CE, Emperor Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators within 123 days. It is estimated that the games played in the Colosseum for hundreds of years have taken the lives of about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals.
14. Despite its brutal pagan origins, the Colosseum has been used as a worship space by Christians over the centuries. A large cross was removed in the 1870's during a frenzy of secular archaeology funded by the new Italian state. That cross was replaced by Mussolini in 1926 in a cynical effort to placate Catholics.
15. Gladiators were marginalized persons in Roman society, without the rights of citizenship, and essentially (or literally) slaves.The gladiators were both admired and reviled by the Romans.
16. The Fighting Killed Off Whole Species The sheer quantity of slaughter in the Colosseum saw the number of lions, jaguars, and tigers plummet across the globe. According to some, Roman hunting absolutely “devastated the wildlife of North Africa and the entire Mediterranean region,” wiping some species of animal off the map entirely. The events at the Colosseum were seriously brutal, though – during certain games held by the emperors around 10,000 animals were killed in a si18le day.

18. After one particularly brutal set of games in which 9,000 animals were slaughtered, the hippo disappeared from the river Nile. Creatures like the North African elephant, which was also commonly used as a war elephant during the time, were wiped of the face of the Earth completely.
19. The area beneath the Colosseum was called the Hypogeum (meaning underground). The hypogeum consisted of two-level subterranean network of tunnels and 32 animal pens. It had 80 vertical shafts which provided instant access to the arena for animals and scenery.