Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
COLOSSEUM
A monument to raw, merciless power, the Colosseum is the most thrilling of Rome's
ancient sights. It's not just the amazing completeness of the place, or its size, but the
sense of violent history that resonates: it was here that gladiators met in mortal com-
bat and condemned prisoners fought off wild beasts in front of baying, bloodthirsty
crowds. Two thousand years on and it's Italy's top tourist attraction, drawing up to
five million visitors a year.
Built by Vespasian (r AD 69−79) in the grounds of Nero's vast Domus Aurea complex,
the Colosseum was inaugurated in AD 80. To mark the occasion, Vespasian's son and suc-
cessor Titus (r AD 79−81) staged games that lasted 100 days and nights, during which
some 5000 animals were slaughtered. Trajan (r AD 98−117) later topped this, holding a
marathon 117-day killing spree involving 9000 gladiators and 10,000 animals.
