ITALY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 938

▲ Capuchin Crypt Decorated with the bones of 4,000 Franciscan friars. Hours:
Daily 9:00-19:00. See here .
▲ Baths of Diocletian Once ancient Rome's immense public baths, now a Michelan-
gelochurch. Hours: Mon-Sat7:00-18:30,Sun7:00-19:30,closedtosightseersduring
Mass. See here .
▲ SantaMariadellaVittoria ChurchwithBernini'sswooning St . TeresainEcstasy .
Hours: Mon-Sat 8:30-12:00 & 15:30-18:00, Sun 15:30-18:00. See here .
While the essential structure of the Colosseum is Roman, the four-story facade is dec-
orated with mostly Greek columns—Doric-like Tuscan columns on the ground level, Ionic
on the second story, Corinthian on the next level, and at the top, half-columns with a mix of
all three. Originally, copies of Greek statues stood in the arches of the middle two stories,
giving a veneer of sophistication to this arena of death.
This was where ancient Romans—whose taste for violence was the equal of modern
America's—enjoyedtheir DirtyHarry sand Terminator s.Gladiators,criminals,andwildan-
imals fought to the death in every conceivable scenario. The bit of reconstructed Colosseum
floor gives you an accurate sense of the original floor and the subterranean warren where
animalswereheld,thenliftedupinelevators.Releasedatfloorlevel,animalswouldpopout
from behind blinds into the arena—the gladiator didn't know where, when, or by what he'd
be attacked.
Only a third of the original Colosseum remains. Earthquakes destroyed some of it, but
most was carted off as easy pre-cut stones for other buildings during the Middle Ages and
Renaissance.
Cost and Hours: €12 combo-ticket includes Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, open
daily 8:30 until one hour before sunset, last entry one hour before closing—for specifics,
see “Hours” on here , audioguide-€5.50, Metro: Colosseo, tel. [phone], ht-
tp://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en .
Avoiding Lines: Crowds tend to be thinner (and lines shorter) in the afternoon (espe-
cially after 15:00 in summer); this is also true at the Forum.
You can save lots of time by buying your combo-ticket in advance, having the Roma
Pass, booking a guided tour, or renting an audioguide or videoguide. Here are the options:
1.Buyyourcombo-ticket(orRomaPass)attheless-crowdedPalatineHillentrance,150
yards away on Via di San Gregorio (facing the Forum, with Colosseum at your back, go left
down the street). You can also buy a Roma Pass at the tobacco shop in the Colosseo Metro
station, the IForidiRoma visitors center onVia dei ForiImperiali (see here ),orother sights