Day Two in Rome - Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Trajan's Column. 13 January

Today we made our way to the Colosseum via the Metro. We opted for a guided tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Wow! It was worth the 120 Euro!! The Colosseum guided tour with Roberto was AMAZING! The boys were so engaged! Below I'll try to give you just some of the detail that he gave us.

The Colosseum was not originally called the Colosseum. Originally it was named Amphitheatrum Flavium. Typically we know a 'theatre' is a half circle, the word 'amphi' means double, therefore the 'amphitheatre' means full circle in shape.

Built from 72-80AD during the rule of emperor Titus, the Colosseum in Rome was the greatest Roman amphitheatre, measuring 188 metres in length, 156 metres in width and 57 metres in height, which made it the Rome the most important city in the world. It would hold 60,000 spectators, rich closest to the arena at the bottom, those with less money further up, depending on how wealthy you were.

The emperor Titus inaugurated the Colesseum with 100 days of games which took the life of more than 2000 gladiators along with 5000 animals! It is said that the amphitheatre was used for entertainment for 390 years. During this time more than 400,000 people died inside the Colosseum. It's estimated that about 1,000,000 animals died in the Colosseum as well.

During the mornings Gladiators would fight animals, from 12-2pm executions of prisoners would take place, and in the afternoons it was Gladiators v Gladiators.

In 313AD Roman emperor Constantine the Great ended all persecution and declared toleration for Christianity. This was a very important turning point as it meant that people were free to be Christians and believe in what they wanted to. Christianity became the official state religion of the Empire. This drastic change in policy spread this relatively new religion to every corner of the Empire.

In 476AD the Roman Empire fell and that was the end of Colosseum life. The population of Rome dropped to 20,000 from 1 million, as everybody left because it was too dangerous.

In 1349 an earthquake struck and the Colosseum suffered serious damage. All of the south side collapsed.

After this the Colosseum was an important source of materials. Metal, marble and gold were taken and used elsewhere in Rome. The facade of St Peter's Basilica is where much of the marble went.

A few trivia facts!

Arena means sand, not stadium as most think.
The original name 'Flavian Amphitheatre was changed to the Colosseum due to the great statue of Nero that was located at the entrance of the Domus Aurea. 'The Colossus of Nero'. The Domus Aurea was a great palace built under the orders of Nero after the Fire of Rome.

Our tour guide, Roberto showing us what the Colosseum would have looked like originally.

The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch.

Although dedicated to Constantine, much of the decorative material incorporated earlier work from the time of the emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, therefore is more of a collage. There actually aren't any images of Constantine on the arch.