© Richard Randall

ROME

Colosseum

To get into Rome, which was about an hour and a half away, we drove to the nearest train station and left the car, travelling the rest of the way by train. The train was amazing, Richard and I are not usually big fans of public transport but we were impressed with this. The trains were very regular and exceptionally clean and modern, they were double-decker carriages which once inside split into three floors. We had to get to the station very early to insure that we were able to park as the car park was very busy with commuters. Luckily each time we went we were lucky to get a parking spot. We all loved Rome, there was so much to see there, the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Arch of Constantine and so much more. We spent several days and many hours exploring this amazing city, and I am sure we only scrapped the surface. As keen as we were to explore the ancient monuments in this beautiful city, the first day that Richard, myself and his parents went to Rome, Richard and I decided to go shopping! So whilst Richards parents set off to explore the Vatican Museum we waved goodbye to them and hailed a taxi to take us to the Via Condotti, which was where we knew we would find lots of opportunities to browse and purchase gorgeous clothes, Gucci look out! The Via Condotti is at the foot of the Spanish Steps and home to most of the big name fashion stores, we had a great time. Once we had the shopping out of our systems we were able to fully appreciate the amazing sites that Rome has to offer. On subsequent visits to Rome during our stay in Italy, we visited many of the most famous monuments. The Vatican; The Worlds smallest country. St Peter's piazza can apparently hold 300,000 people and not be crowded, that will give you an idea of the scale of the place. On first site it is breathtaking, when we were there we were lucky enough not to have to queue. But we could imagine how busy it gets as there were miles of barriers that would help to control the crowds queuing during the busier times. The square is surrounded by massive columns and statues of saints, the video camera was definitely going to be very well used here, thankfully we had bought an extra battery just in case! One of the first sites that Richard and I went to see was the Colosseum, the most famous monument of ancient Rome (Open daily 9am-Dusk; Tel 06 699 0110 or 06 3908 0730). The Colosseum is the largest ampitheatre ever built by the Romans, although it's design was copied all over the empire in similar buildings. The Colosseum is in remarkable condition considering that for centuries it was pillaged for its stone, the north-east side in particular seems almost undamaged. The Colosseum has been Rome's emblem of eternity for many centuries. An Anglo Saxon pilgrims prophecy says that 'While the Colisaeus stands, Rome shall stand; when the Colisaeus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, the world shall fall.' The name probably referred to Nero's colossal statue, which stood next to the ampitheatre, but it became a popular name for the building itself and remains so to this day. The original name; Flavian Ampitheatre was to commemorate the family name of Vespasian, responsible for starting the building in AD 70/75 (depending on what you read), and of Titus his son, and Domitian who completed the building ten years later. Once completed the inaugural festival lasted for 100 days and saw the deaths of many gladiators and around 5,000 wild beasts. The gladiatorial combats and wild animal hunts (venationes) made for very popular entertainment, with grand ceremonies in the Colosseum throughout the Imperial period. The Colosseum was capable of holding 50,000 people, with three tiers of seating and standing room above. The gladiators were made up of condemned convicts, prisoners of war or slaves who would fight man to man in single combat in the timber floored arena. When one of the galdiators was killed then the other would be declared the winner. Of the wild beasts that were slaughtered at the Colosseum, there would have been tigers, lions, elephants and even crocodiles which were shipped to Rome for the spectacle. Occasionally the arena was flooded with water, to stage mock sea battles (naumachiae). Gladiatorial combats were suppressed in the fifth century and in 523 so were the wild beasts fights. The ampitheatre has had a tough time of it over the years as well as being pillaged for its stone it has suffered many other troubles. There was a fire in 217, and an earthquake caused damage in 443, and once again earthquakes were to strike in 1231 and 1349. The exterior of the Colosseum is roughly 189m in length, 156m in width and about 50m high, the total circumference measures 545m. The building is constructed using travertine outside and brick faced concrete and tufa in the interior. Iron clamps would have held the travertine blocks together originally but these have been missing since the middle ages. The exterior wall supports the complex interior and has four storeys. The three lower storeys have rows of arches decorated with engaged columns of the three orders superimposed; Tuscan Doric is on the lowest, Ionic is on the middle, and the top has Corinthian. The fourth storey doesn't have arches, it is articulated by slender Corinthian pilasters dating from Alexander Severus' restoration. On the second and third storeys statues would have originally occupied the arches. The audience would have been protected from the elements by the projecting corbels, which supported 240 wooden poles which when inserted through the holes in the cornice would have protruded above the top of the building and supported an awning. There were 80 arches on the ground floor all of which were numbered and served as entrances. Through these numbered arches were the concentric vaulted corridors which gave access to the stairs. The spectators would enter through the arch that had the corresponding number of their ticket, then they would ascend the appropriate stairs to find their seat in the cavea along one of the numerous passages. There were also four main entrances at the ends of the diameters of the eclipse; north-east, south-east, south-west, and north-west. On the north-east, without a cornice and wider than the others between arches XXXVIII and XXXIX opening into a hall decorated with stuccoes, and reserved especially for him, was where the emperor would have entered. The interior is still magnificent even though more than two thirds of the original masonry has been removed. Obviously now with the wooden floor gone the view is not what it would have been as the underground passages are no longer covered by the wood but open and clearly visible. Having said that the view once you are inside the Colosseum is spectacular, the sheer size is amazing. The arena is 83m by 48m, the name comes from the sand (arena) which once covered the floor to soak up the blood and to help the combatants from losing their footing. Beneath the arena it is possible to see the substructures which housed the complex mechanisms which hoisted the scenery and other pieces of equipment into the arena, also here were the access passages and there would have been cages for the animals.

Caribbean

Sundries

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

Oceania