Rome Travel Guide

Colosseum and Arch of Constantine

Over two thousand years old arena built during the rule of three Flavian emperors is unquestionably one of the symbols of the Eternal City. The place of bloody games and grand celebrations of ancient Rome.

The Colosseum originally bore the name of the Flavian dynasty, which began its construction. The monumental oval was built of travertine as well as most other constructions in ancient Rome. The travertine stone was transported from the 30 kilometers distant town of Tivolli on a road that had specially been built for this purpose. The stone blocks of Colosseum are fixed together with more than 300 tons of metal ties.

The 50 meters high oval has three floors supported by columns that grow in decoration floor by floor. The lowest floor is supported by plain Dorian columns, the second level by Ionian columns and the top floor by richly decorated Corinthian columns. The fourth level is has no decoration. Remains of the walls on the last level have a large number of holes in them. The holes were used for fixing wooden poles to carry the tarpaulin to cover audience from the sun. The arena was able to contain more than 50 000 viewers. The seats were assigned by the social status. The bottom floor of the Colosseum was made of wood and covered with sand. The wooden floor has not been fully restored so you can admire the underground system of corridors and cells once housing gladiators.

Next to the Colosseum is found one of the most beautiful and best preserved arches of triumph in Rome: Arch of Constantine. The arch celebrates the 10th anniversary of Constantine succeeding as emperor. The arch was probably built when the Roman art was on the brink of a crises. The rectangular reliefs had been taken from an older arch (the Arch of Marcus Aurelius) and only the portrait of the emperor was re-sculpted so that it resembled Constantine. Some of the arch's sculptures are now on display in the Capitoline Museums.