Final thoughts on the Colosseum

As I wrap up my last week in Rome, I want to reflect on my experiences while viewing the Colosseum. One of my major reasons for studying abroad in Rome, was because I have always been fascinated by the ancient wonder. Ever since learnign about it in grade school I've always been in awe of the Colosseum. While I have been living in Rome, I've visited the structure many times, and everytime I see the Colosseum, it still fascinates me. To think this was built over 2000 years ago, with none of the technology we have to day absolutely boggles my mind. I've observed many little things at the site that I didn't know about before coming here. For instance, above every arched entrance, there are Roman numerals that say what section your walking under. I wasn't sure how the seating was assigned before I came here, and so far this is the best evidence that I've found that proves people were assigned to different sections. I was aware that people were located according to class, and that they had to sit in specific areas. Before coming to the site however, I wasn't sure if each section was divided into smaller sub sections. The Roman numerals above the entrances prove that there were in fact smaller sub sections. This is just one example of the many interesting things I've taken in at the Colosseum site. The stadium was so far ahead of it's time that it bewilders me. I'd give anything to go back in time, and take in the atmosphere surrounding a sold out battle. When I walk around the present day area where the colosseum sits, I can imagine some of what took place, but I'll never really know for sure what it was like. When I board the plane to go home on Friday, the first thing I'll look for if we get close to the city, is my favorite structure in Rome. The coin tossed over my shoulder at the Trevi ensures another visit, and you can bet the Colosseum will be on my itinerary.
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Viewing Roma St. Peter's Style

The other day I walked to the top of St. Peters, and could see the whole city. It was the best view from above that anyone could ask for because the Vatican looks out into the heart of Rome. I easily spotted the some of the sites I had vsited such as the Pantheon, The Jewish Synagogue, and the Victor Emannuel "wedding cake" building. However, I was very surprised at how hard it was to see the Colosseum. It was a good thing I knew exactly where it was located, or I doubt I would have been able to see it. The outer wall was the only part of the structure that you could see. I was hopeing the find a spot in Rome that overlooked the city, where you could find a good view of the Colosseum, but unfortunately, I havn't been able to find such a place. Regardless, I am very glad that I took the time to walk up the 400 plus steps to the cupola at St. Peters. You can see for miles, with rolling hills as the backdrop for the city. It only costs 5 euros, and I'd definitely be up for doing it again.
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The Blue Colosseum

Last night after getting off the train from Tivoli, we took the metro the Circus Maximus stop. When I come up from the Roman underground, I looked up at the sky and I noticed that there was a neon blue glow in the direction of the Colosseum. Courtney and I, although we were exhausted from our trip, decided to walk to the colosseum and check it out. The first thing that we noticed were the plentiful booms of fireworks in the distance. There were also numerous brides getting pictures taken around the ancient stadium. When we got close enough, we realized that the exterior of the colosseum was lit up like normal. From the interior however, there were huge blue lights shining on the inside of the colosseum. It made the old structure seem very creepy. We had no idea why they did this, and everyone we asked either didn't know of couldn't speak English. Anyways, it was cool to see the colosseum in this glow. Yet again, my pictures were full of orbs. Very cool!

Massive Colosseum Crowds

The Roman Colosseum held in access of 55,000 spectators. Some scholars believe that number may be low, and in the hay day of colosseum spectacles, it had capacity crowds of over 80,000. The structure has 80 arched entrances which allowed the massive crowds to fill the colosseum fully from empty in around 10 minutes. (Eyewitness Travel) Each entrance has a Roman numerals located above the archway which helped spectators find their seats. The numbers can still be seen today. Entrance to the colosseum was free to the citizens of Rome, but seating was most definitely assigned according to class. The upper ring of the colosseum was for standing room section located for peasants, while the emperor sat on a large terrace called the podium. The fact that the colosseum could be filled and evacuated in ten minutes blows my mind. Beaver Stadium at Penn State, holds 110,000 people and if everyone stays until the end of the game, it takes at least 30 minutes to get out of the stadium. The ancient Romans built with an extreme precision, that is un parallel to the modern buildings of today. The colosseum is a testament to the brilliant architects of the ancient Roman empire who’s buildings still boggle historians to this date.

The Looming Colosseum

One thing that I have noticed while walking around Rome, is how often the Colosseum shows up in the distance. I love walking down the street and seeing the Colosseum at the end of my line of sight. It is so massive and dominant that when I watch traffic flow down the street, it almost looks like the traffic is going to smack right into it. The buildings in Rome are all built so close together, so the perception of the Colosseum from far away looks like it is right in the middle of the street. We have been doing a lot of sightseeing over by the Colosseum, and I've been using it as a marker to tell where I am. I think it would be amazing to stand on the top tier of the third outer wall. I am sure the view from up there would be absolutely amazing. Whenever I get on top of a hill, or am at a place that has a view, the first thing I always do is look for the Colosseum to tell where I am in reference to it. When you look at it from far away, it seems dreary and dilapidated. In the middle of a sunny day the middle of the outer wall looks black and worn. I like this look because I think it really helps show it's extremely old age. If it was all scrubbed and polished I think the Colosseum would look silly because it is cracked and falling apart. When looking at the Colosseum from far away the buildings closer to you are nicely painted with solid bright colors. Comparing this to the Colosseum makes the Colosseum look like it's lost in time. It is really an awesome effect, that is completely natural. As you can see by the pictures, the Colosseum somberly sits among a fast paced city. It has been relatively unchanged for 1000s of years, while the city around it grows with the times.

The Colosseum; Day VS Night

I have been to the Colosseum many times since I have been in Rome. The differences between the Colosseum at night and in the day are very abundant. During the day the Colosseum is a tourist hot spot, with thousands of people scurrying all around you. There are people dressed up as gladiators, and vendors everywhere you look. There isn't much shade around the Colosseum, so if you go during the day and it's sunny out, be prepared for it to be hot! Nighttime at the Colosseum is a completely different story. The night I visited, the temperature was cool and the air felt damp. There weren't many people around, and most of them seemed to be out on dates. I've been learning during my time here in Rome that the Colosseum is a very popular place to take your significant other. There isn't as much traffic at night so the whole setting is quieter and less frantic.  The constant chatter of tourists is absent, and you aren't constantly bothered by vendors and tour guides. Personally, I could take in the Colosseum better at night because you were able to concentrate on your surroundings more thoroughly. It is very dark around the Colosseum at night, even though the Colosseum itself is very well lit. It's an all around different experience to visit the Colosseum at night than it is in the day time. As you can see in one of my earlier posts, you never know what you might see. I strongly suggest checking it out after dark, I promise it will be an experience to remember!

Inside the Colosseum

I finally got the opportunity to go inside of the Colosseum, and let me just say the whole experience was overwhelming. I was definitely taken aback the first time I walked through the portal and viewed the interior of the oval shaped stadium. The history that surrounded me was felt in the air by everyone. You could just tell that you were standing in something that was larger than life. I could honestly feel the amount of casualties that took place at the Colosseum around me. There is something very eerie about the massive structure. The ragged edges are dilapidated and noticeably ravaged by weather and time. Across from where I was standing was the side of the Colosseum where the outer ring was still standing. I thought it was amazing to look up at the interior of the third ring of the stadium and see the remains of the stairwells. I imagined thousands of Ancient Romans scurrying to the cheap seats 2000 years ago, and it gave me goose bumps. After this visualization, I gazed down at the remains of what use to be the playing space of the Colosseum. I peered into the ruins of the floor at the system of trap doors, and elevators that formerly released ancient beasts at the fighters. The mental image in my head was quite elaborate, and I knew that I could only imagine a miniscule of what actually use to take place here. I was completely blown away by what I saw that day. I definitely want to make another trip back to the interior of the Roman Colosseum, so cool!

The Moon and the Colosseum

Wherever I am in the world I have always taken notice of the moon. My surroundings may be very different and I could be half way around the world, but one thing that always remains constant is the moon. No matter where you are it looks the same, although it may be located in different parts of the sky or the horizon, it still glows its same ominous shine. hen I was visiting the colosseum I did the stereotypical raise your hand over your head, close one eye and cover the moon with your thumb. For some reason doing this standing next to the Colosseum was a very cool moment for me. Notice the moon shining through the upper part of the Colosseum, the way the clouds were scurrying past the moon is made the area I was standing in dim, then get bright again. It was so awesome peering up at the moon through the openings in the outer ring of the Colosseum. Words can't describe what this was like for me. I wish you all could have been there! I guess the point of this post is to acknowledge that no matter where I'm at in the world i've always got our moon.

The Colosseum at Night

After viewing the Colosseum during the day, I thought it would be cool to head over to the area after dark. There was no let down with this assumption. I thought that it was absolutely incredible how the Colosseum was lit up at night. It was so surreal walking around the Colosseum in the dark because it was absolutely beautiful, I could see why the characters in the books we've been reading go on dates there! I was under the impression that none of my pictures that I was taking were coming out because it was so dark, but when I uploaded them onto my computer and changed the exposure settings I was very surprised at what I saw. Almost every picture that I took of the Colosseum had white orbs all over them. I thought this was really interesting because every other picture that I took that night of other things did not have this effect. If you are one to believe that an orb is a spirit or a ghost, I guess it would make sense that thousands of them would be fluttering around this ancient wonder. On any given day in ancient rome dozens of people and hundreds of animals were slaughtered on the Colosseums hallowed ground. It might have been only in my head, but the air around the Colosseum definitely did feel strange and eerie. I can honestly say that so far, the Colossium has lived up to every expectation that I had about this spectacular structure. 

The Roman Colosseum

The Roman Colosseum is the oldest known "stadium" in the world. It is thought to be over 2000 years old. I find in remarkable that the remnants of this facility remain in modern day Rome, and that gridlock traffic whizzes around it 24 hours a day. For my entire life I have always had an infatuation with the Colosseum because of its rich history. When I was asked to choose a specific place in Rome to blog about it was a "no-brainer" for me to choose the Colosseum. I wasn't even in Rome for 24 hours before visiting this ancient battle ground. I think one of the reasons why the Colosseum is so special to me is because I have always been a huge fan of Penn State football, and the trek to the stadium on football Saturdays is something very exciting to me. When thinking that 2000 years ago 55,000+ people made a similiar trek to the Colosseum it blows my mind. I go watch Penn State football players tackle and hit their opponents. Ancient Romans watched gladiators dodge tigers and lions, while trying to spear their opponent. Death played as the agony of defeat, not points on a scoreboard. My how the human race has evolved. . .