Colosseum: Take 2

Where: Rome, Italy
When: May 9, 2015
With: Mom, Bobby, Ashley

Last time I was in Italy, my trip to the Colosseum was...disappointing. Basically, a freak snow storm (the first snow Rome had since 1989) had caused the site to shut down. Something about crumbling walls. BS! As a result, no Colosseum for me. Here's the link to that post, including my short, harrowing tale of disappointment.

On this go around, no snow was in the forecast. (It was May, so if there was snow, we'd have bigger problems on our hands). In fact, it was almost 90 degrees. This was more like the Colosseum experience I was expecting the first time: long lines, sweaty tourists, EUR 2 for a bottle of water. Ahh, Rome.

This was my family's first day in Italy. We had just flown in and we were trying to stay up to battle jetlag. I figured taking them to the Colosseum would be a nice jolt to the system, allowing us a few hours of adrenaline to power through the later part of the day. Because come on, the Colosseum? That's enough to wake anyone up. Especially Ashley's inner Italian.

  I will say that walking up the middle of the Imperial Forum road with this view at the end of it is pretty cool. It's like time traveling back 2,000 years, and you can't help but imagine how impressive this sight must have been in the early ADs if it's still so amazing now. Back then, it would have shone a brilliant white, with painted statues in each of the archways. Way different now, but still incredibly impressive.

Obligatory touristic family photos with the Colosseum in the background.

A key tip we learned on this trip is that if you haven't booked your ticket ahead of time for the Colosseum (something we didn't want to do in case there were any flight delays), don't wait in the line at the Colosseum to buy it. If you are up for visiting some of the other sites in the area (like the Roman Forum or Palatine Hill) then it's easiest to buy a combo ticket at one of the other sites. We went to the Roman Forum and there was no one waiting. The whole ticket costs only EUR 12 (only EUR 4 more than the Colosseum ticket alone) and it's valid for 2 days. Plus saves you an hour or more in line. Totally worth it. 

So finally, 3 years after the last attempt, I was able to enter the Colosseum. So excited.

Despite having been built in 80AD, entering the Colosseum feels weirdly like entering a modern day football stadium (minus the corporate sponsorship and shiny hotdog vendors). After swiping tickets, a long, high-ceiling tunnel takes visitors along the outer perimeter of the arena towards a massive inner staircase. After a long climb, multiple tunnels shoot off the second level hallway and open up towards the arena. At any given event, up to 50,000 Romans could be accommodated here and this efficient setup allowed them to empty the stadium in only 15 minutes. 

After exiting the tunnel, this is the sight that appears. It's really surreal. Even though this structure is just a shell of itself, it's no less impressive and amazing. I could have just stood here for hours taking it in. 

Even the ticketing system was more modern than I would have expected. Spectators were provided with pieces of broken clay that contained their section and row number. That's to make sure the plebs didn't fraternize with the aristocrats, but still, I'm shocked at the organizational skills!

Wonder which section these plebs would have been seated in. Keep heading up, ladies. 

The most famous stars of the Colosseum were, of course, the gladiators. Back then, they were treated like we treat sports stars today. Ancient graffiti and artwork commemorated them, displaying their names and the special skills that gave them fame for all of eternity.

In addition to gladiator battles, the Colosseum events also included executions (primarily POWs, Christians, and criminals), the slaying of great beasts from all over the world, and comedic relief using clowns, midgets and crippled people (not exactly PC). The purpose of all of these events was to elevate the pride the Roman masses had in their great empire by displaying all the people and places the Romans had conquered. It was a hidden trick to keep the poor happy and prevent them from rising up against the few, privileged wealthy. And it worked very well. 

All of these events took place on a floor that is no longer standing today. The original flooring would have consisted of wooden planks laid across the top of these pillars and covered in a thick layer of sand. (Consequently, the Latin word for sand was arena.) However, the tunnels and crevices that remain today provide a look at the stadium's "backstage", where animals were kept in cages, scenery was stored, and gladiators warmed up.  

The technical ability of this flooring also astonished me. Scene changes sound like they were intense and dramatic, even by today's standards. Entire Greek temples could be hoisted out of the ground at a moments notice or an entire forest of trees erected in minutes. Eighty elevators were built into the floor allowing for different scenery to be lifted up for the crowd's enjoyment. Even wild animals could be injected into a scene with the poor, unsuspecting "actors" having no idea where they would show up. 

While our time in the stadium was fairly brief (heat and jetlag got the best of us), it was incredibly impressive and I'm so glad I finally made it. I could wander around there all day. Amazing that something so old can still be standing and impressive all these years later.