More popularly known as the Colosseum, the Flavian Amphitheatre is perhaps the most famous of Rome’s monuments. Its construction started between 70 and 72 A.D. under Vespasian but was completed and inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. It also underwent several modifications (e.g. construction of the hypogeum and the addition of the upper gallery) under the reign of Domitian between 81 and 96 A.D.
“Where once there were roaring crowds, only silence…”
With an estimated capacity of 50,000 seats, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles, which includes executions as well as animal hunts. Indeed it has also been estimated that half a million people and about over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.
“If only these walls could speak…”: The hypogeum underneath the arena, where animals and slaves were kept for the games.
The popularity of the building as an entertainment venue eventually waned, however, probably as a result of the increasing Christianisation of the Roman empire. During the Medieval period, it underwent a series of drastic changes in function: a small church was built into its structure and the arena converted into a cemetery around the 6th century; the vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seats were used as workshops and houses up until the 12th century; and around the beginning of the 13th century, it was fortified and used as a castle/fortress by one of the powerful local clans, the Frangipani. In 1349 it was severely damaged by an earthquake; consequently, much of the stones which have tumbled out of the collapsed outer south side were re-used in the construction of other buildings elsewhere in Rome. The bronze clamps which held the stoneworks together were also pulled out, leaving pockmarks that are still visible on the building’s facade.
At present, the Colosseum is considered one of the major tourist attractions in Rome, if not in Italy as whole. It figures prominently in Roman Catholic religious ceremonies: the Pope leads the annual “Stations of the Cross”, a procession through the amphitheatre’s various levels, each Good Friday. In recent years it has also become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment (death penalty).
