I was never a history buff in high school. I actually hated the idea of sitting in social studies class learning about the World Wars, who even won anyway? [bad, I know, don’t rub it in…] It was all just very confusing to me (I was more of a math and science girl), and I just studied to get good marks in my classes (because I was one of those who wanted needed straight A’s or I wasn’t satisfied). It’s funny, because when you finally grow up, you finally realize that those high school grades don’t matter. One bit.
Let’s move on to the real reason behind the post = the letter C, for Coliseum. And Cah-razy. As we all know I can ramble on and on and on (Hey, look, I’m doing it right now…)
So when I visited the ancient Colosseum in the heart of Rome on my backpacking trip a few years back, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Sure, I’ve seen pictures of one of the most recognizable landmarks of Italy, but it was just that– only pictures. The Eiffel Tower had a pretty big effect on me, however, Paris is always a good idea. But would I revert back to my high school days and simply not give a damn about the Colosseum?
That changed the moment I laid eyes on the massive, half destroyed, yet beautiful sight.
To just think that Roman emperors built this entire stadium/amphitheatre WAY back in 70-80 AD surely is pretty impressive. Surely something I could never do. Although I did have a great time admiring the Roman Colosseum, (complete with some gelato on the way back), we viewed it alone, lacking a tour guide or Lonely Planet book to describe in detail more about this grandiose colosseum. I later did some research after the trip. Hey, better late than never, right?
Here’s what I found out:
How it was made:
Shape: elliptical
At the very top, a level was added to house the common poor, slaves, and woman. Experts believe that spectators at this level had to stand during the entire performance.
Preservation:
Parts of the outer wall were cleaned between 1993 and 2000, in order to clean the Colosseum from automobile exhaust damage.
A recent agreement has been made (with the Tod’s guy- how cool!) to restore the Colosseum. I hope this €25 million restoration doesn’t change it too much!
And now some more photos for your viewing pleasure: