The Colosseum also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre was commissioned in the Flavian Dynasty by Emperor Vespasian as a gift to the Roman people somewhere between 70 CE and 72 CE. It was built on what used to be Emperor Nero’s golden house as a representation to be the new center and heart of the city. Vespasian’s son, Titus officially dedicated the Colosseum in 80 CE with a ceremony of 100 days of games. Titus’ brother, Domitian completed the building of the Colosseum, having a total of 4 stories and measuring at 620 by 513 feet or 190 by 155 meters. The Colosseum differed from other Amphitheatres because it was built as a freestanding structure unlike the typical hillside theatres that needed the extra support. It is made of stone and concrete and has 3 distinctive exterior layers consisting of 80 semi-circular columns. Each level of arches become more and more intricate starting from the bottom made of a simple Doric order, then Ionic for the second, and a detailed Corinthian order on the top. It has about 80 different entrances. Two of them were used for gladiators where one entrance, Porta Libitina was used for those who lost and died during the games, and Porta Sanivivaria was where the victors exited the arena. The emperor had 2 distinct entrances for his personal use. The Colosseum had a seating capacity of about 50,000 spectators that were divided based on social class. The marble seatings were divided by the rich, middle-class, and then slaves and foreigners. The top tier, filled with wooden seats and room for standing, was reserved for women and the poor. At the very top of the Colosseum, platform sailors were in charge of an awning called the velarium to protect the audience from the harsh sun and rain. The Amphitheatre was used for gladiator fights, games, and animal fights where the main attraction was blood and death. It was even used as a place to execute Christian martyrs who were a threat and challenged the Pagan Roman society and the divinity of the Emperors. The amount of spectacles a year held within the Colosseum averaged to be about 93 times. It was actively used for about 4 centuries, but as the Western Roman Empire struggled and people’s tastes changed, the Amphitheatre was no longer needed. Over time, it suffered damage from natural causes such as earthquakes and storms. The collapsing Colosseum was robbed of its materials for other building purposes of cathedrals and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. It was vandalized and remained abandoned. However, various popes such as Pius the XIII attempted to implement conservation projects to claim it as a sacred Christian site. Today, nearly two-thirds of the Colosseum has been destroyed, and it is now used as one of Rome’s most popular attractions, receiving around 7 million visitors a year.”
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