The Colosseum is 1,935 years old and it is still the largest amphitheatre ever built. The outer wall originally rose 48 metres, the height of a modern 16-storey building, and the arena floor covered 3,357 square metres. It held 50,000 spectators who entered through 80 numbered arches. The building was completed in 80 AD under Emperor Titus, financed by the spoils of the Jewish War, and the inauguration lasted 100 days. Vespasian, who ordered the construction, never saw it finished. The Colosseum is the enduring symbol of what Rome built, what Rome destroyed, and what Rome refuses to let go of.
In This Article
The Structure: Concrete, Travertine, and a Velarium
The Colosseum was built with travertine limestone quarried from Tivoli, 30 km east of Rome, using 100,000 cubic metres of stone held together by iron clamps (which were removed in the Middle Ages, leaving the pockmarks visible today). The interior uses Roman concrete and brick-faced concrete. The four tiers, labelled I to IV, correspond to the Roman social hierarchy: the emperor and senators on the lowest tier, the plebeians on the top. The velarium, a vast retractable canvas awning, covered the top tier to shade the spectators. It was operated by a detachment of sailors from the Roman navy, who handled the 240 ropes and 320 pulleys. The mechanism was sophisticated enough to adjust the coverage as the sun moved across the arena.
The Games: What Actually Happened in the Arena
The Colosseum hosted gladiatorial combat, animal hunts (venationes), and naval battles (naumachiae). The naval battles involved flooding the arena floor, which was sealed with a waterproof lining, and filling it with water from the Aqua Claudia aqueduct. The last recorded animal hunt was in 523 AD. The last gladiatorial combat is believed to have been outlawed in 435 AD under the Christian emperor Honorius. Over its 400 years of active use, an estimated 400,000 people and 1 million animals died in the arena. The Romans counted the animals. They did not count the gladiators.
The Restoration and the Modern Visit
The Colosseum underwent a major restoration between 2013 and 2016, funded by the Tod’s shoe company with a contribution of 25 million euros. The restoration cleaned the facade and reinforced the structure. The arena floor was partially reconstructed in 2023, with a retractable platform that allows visitors to walk where the gladiators fought. The current entrance fee is 18 euros for adults, including access to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The ticket is valid for two consecutive days. The skip-the-line pass costs 24 euros. The guided underground tour, which includes the hypogeum (the two-level network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena floor), costs an additional 12 euros and must be booked in advance.
What did you feel when you first walked into the Colosseum and looked up at the tiers where 50,000 Romans once sat?
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