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Rome's Colosseum, one of the seven wonders of the world, is another one of those items for the bucket list.
Voted by 90 million people in a survey launched by B. Weber in 2007, the Colosseum has become one of the New Wonders of the World. It was evaluated by a team of experts - led by the former UNESCO Director General, Federico Mayor - as a masterpiece of unquestionable value, loved by the Romans and by the rest of the world.
The Flavian Amphitheatre, built by the Emperor Vespasian, was the venue for the games that took place in ancient Rome. Very famous were the gladiator fights, usually performed slaves or prisoners of war, trained with the aim of ferociously and bravely fighting in order to regain their freedom.
The naval battle re-enacments were also rather spectacular events: a reproduction, on artificial lakes, of Rome's famed naumachie. It was Julius Caesar that first proposed this new form of entertainment, although Titus was the first to organize it within the Colosseum, via a system that delivered the water inside and outside the space of the arena.
The genius of the ancient Romans has reached, in this impressive work, its highest expression. The innovation, in contrast to the Greek theatre, lies in its round structure, capable of accommodating a vast audience.
At 171 ft tall, it consisted of four rows with 80 arcades, each one containing 70,000 seats: these numbers convey the magnitude of this monument, the symbol of Rome, today as in the past.
See
Still today the Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world, a precious testamant to the brilliant architectural and construction capacity possessed in Antiquity. It currently serves as venue for important events celebrating Rome's history. Visit it via the Google Street View Virtual Tour of the Colosseum.
The Colosseum
Piazza del Colosseo 1, Rome
Hours
Open Everyday:
Ticket office closes one hour before monument's closing time.
Tickets
Tickets are also available at the Palatine box office at Via di San Gregorio 30, or in Piazza Santa Maria Nova 53 (200 m from the Colosseum). Tickets are also good for entry to the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum.
Reservations
Ticket Reservation Cost: 1.50 Euros for individuals, 21 Euros for groups, 10 Euros for schools. +39.06.39967700 (Monday-Friday, 9 AM - 6 PM; Saturday, 9 AM - 2 PM); Coopculture
Information
Tourism Info Point tel. +39.06.77400922 e-mail: ssba-rm.infocolosseo@beniculturali.it
How to Get There
Buses 60 – 75 – 85 – 87 – 117 – 271 – 571 – 175 – 186 – 810 – 850 – C3; Tram 3; Metro Line B, Colosseo stop