Italy - Rome - Colosseum

I just had to show this picture to prove I had actually gone to this world-famous structure.  See the white line in the pavement surrounding the Colosseum?  That is where the final wall stood when it was a complete structure.

There are lots of photos in this post that tell about the construction and use of the Colosseum.  Just enlarge the photos to read them.



I'm unhappy that I didn't get a good photo of the text in red.  Half is on this photo and half is on the next.

The white area that the people are standing on is a partial reconstruction of the floor.  Later in the day we took a tour of the Colosseum underground and third tier and we stood there too.

Marble seats on right are where the dignitaries set.

Now we are standing on that partially reconstructed floor

These marble seats were for the dignitaries.

This is one of the entryways where the gladiators entered the underground.

Looking out from under the floor

 

 

Marble and other expensive stones were used on the top of the Colosseum but anything available was used in the underground.

Now we are up on the third tier.

From here we can see the Arch of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Roman civilization.  It is decorated entirely with carving originally placed on other buildings that glorified previous emperors.  Looks like they were cleaning and repairing half of it.

We could see Palentine Hill and some of the ruins of the Roman Forum

Another famous arch is the Arch of Titus.  It serves as the Southeastern entry into the Roman Forum

 

Further to the NW we can see up the Via dei Fori Imperiali which Musolini had built through the town, destroying ancient buildings all along  the way.  The yellow fencing surrounds the construction area for the new "C" line of the metro that is being built.  Completion scheduled for 2020.

The back side of the Victor Emmanel Monument with the glass enclosure of the elevator sticking up over the ruins in front.