Colosseum (The Roman Arena) in Italy

Colosseum (The Roman arena) is derived from the idea of the Emperor Vespasian, started in 80 AD under the period of Titus and finished under Domitian empire. Placed on the marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian hill, the Colosseum is the first fixed arena to be built in Rome.

Massive scale, grandeur along with practical mechanism, effective in creating impressive sight and controlling huge crowds had made Colosseum one of the greatest architectural works of the ancient Roman.

The Arena is an elliptic-shaped structure with ranges of giant stairs used as seats for 50,000 spectators, surrounding a central court which is also elliptic-shape. Below the wooden floor of the arena is a system of rooms and passages complex for wild animals and the equipment serving the bloody performances. 80 walls radiate from the central area, creating walk ways, stairs and seating rows.

Colosseum in 1757 engraved by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Photo: vi.wikipedia.org

Colosseum was designed to accommodate up to 50,000 people, and around 80 entrances so the spectators can come and go easily. The overall height of the work is about 48.5 m, equivalent to a 12-15 storey buildings.

Inside the Colosseum

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The Romans were free to enjoy the games at the Colosseum. It was considered to be the rewards for citizens who attended the big party of the wealthy and famous people. Emperors and nobility organizational required matches at the Colosseum to attract the attention of his subjects. Stick their eyes to the bloody performances, the Romans will forget other issues.

General view inside the Colosseum in 2011

Photo: vi.wikipedia.org

Originally, the game was held in the name of the gods, people must comply with the laws and the bloody matches were regarded as religious ceremonies. As time goes on, seeing the elite fighting and blood shed at the Colosseum, could bring back money, holiness has been forgotten and the officials began to held matches in the Colosseum to gain profits.