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Before the structure we call "The Colosseum" was a famous tourist attraction, it was pretty much a sporting arena called Il Colosseo at times, and at other times by its original given name, The Flavian Amphitheater. It was a huge phenomenal elliptical structure that sprawled over six acres and was capable of seating 50,000 people at the events held there at the peak of the Roman Empire.

From the first century and for centuries after that, the Colosseum was the center of cultural life for Rome, where people came to see brutal games that pitted gladiators against each other or slaves against wild animals with predictable results. As you tour the stadium, very little remains to remind us of those spectacles except for the vaults and tunnels under the Colosseum that were used to store the animals, and for the gladiators and fighters to enter the facility for their part in the show.

Over the centuries, fires and earthquake have damaged the building significantly. Nonetheless, much of the grandeur that was on display here at the peak of the Roman Empire can still be sensed in these ancient rooms.

If you get all the way to the top of the arena, you will look down 157 feet from the peak to the floor below and from that vantage point, it is easy to imagine the great spectacles that happened here. And even though the once perfect red brick arches are falling apart and the animals and warriors that moved through those gates are no longer here, the ghosts of glory days gone by are easy to sense.

The layout of the stadium is by layers - each of which has a great view of the different levels of arches all around the huge space of the Colosseum. As you sit on those ancient seats, it's easy to hear from the past the crowd explode with excitement when the Emperor came in with his entourage through one of the four gates that were only for him. There are 76 other entrances around the stadium that average citizens of Rome were allowed to use.

It took 15,000 slaves and designers to build this huge structure before it finally opened for use in 80 AD. The title, "The Colosseum" that we know the stadium by, was taken from a famous statue that stood on the grounds that was called "The Colossus." At one time people thought this statue was made in the image of Nero but in fact over the life of the Roman Empire, it bore a likeness to each emperor during his reign. Today you can still find the base that The Colossus stood on not far from the site between the Colosseum and the Temple of Roman and Venus.

The opening of the Colosseum was a gala event and the initial schedule reflected that excitement with 100 days of nonstop revelry by royalty and barbarians alike. Games that we witness in movies made about the time were common including gladiator slaves battling to the death and a brutal form of Roman lion taming that would never be approved in our modern culture.

Where you sat during these spectacles reflected your rank in society. Naturally the Emperor had the best seat in the house near the base. The highest levels of the stadium were occupied by women who had no connection to the Emperor's party. While that is pretty high up, those citizens could still see the brutal games happening on the floor below. The exotic animals such as hippopotami, elephants and rhinoceroses that were all part of the huge show going on each night would be easy to view from anywhere in the stadium.

The more important officials who had the good seats in the Colosseum got to sit under masts and velarium which were canopies that helped shade them from the sun as the combat occurred before them. But those things have long since disappeared to the ravages of time. The huge columns and walls have survived, including the Doric columns at the lowest level, to the Ionic columns on level two and then finishing with the Corinthian at the third level.

To this day the architecture of The Colosseum amazes tourists and engineers alike who also emulate its design and use ideas from this ancient stadium in modern arena designs. At the time, it was a first of its kind and by far the biggest and most famous free standing arena in the Roman world. Other smaller stadiums were just simple structures that were dug out of the hills around Italy. You can still find examples of this design approach around Rome during your visit.

Your visit to Rome will be a fulfilling experience for sure if you include a trip to the Colosseum.

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