Rome's Ancient Colosseum; Standing for the Ages - Time Out #337

This week's installment will describe our visit to another "New 7 Wonders of the World" sight. Like Chichen Itza described earlier, these visits were prior to the Covid-19 viral invasion. Remember, interested folks in Our Town and far beyond, extensive traveling is something we did about every 4-6 weeks for years, before the dreaded worldwide pandemic descended upon us, March, 2020.

Today's topic: the iconic Colosseum, Rome, Italy.

My young bride, Lady Deborah, and I have visited eternal Rome several times over the years, but our first visit included this incredible structure. It is an oval amphitheater in the center of the famous city, just east of the legendary Roman Forum. The Colosseum is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and, today, still remains the largest in the world. Construction was completed in 80 AD. It was built with limestone, volcanic rock, and concrete; just a remarkable structure.

I vividly remember our family walking up to the massive outdoor facility the first time, and absolutely being awe-struck. Over many years, I had seen videos, photos, and printed information about the Colosseum. but, at that particular point in time. I was really there!

It is SO big; 615-feet wide, 510-feet wide, and 157-feet tall. When in active use, almost 2,000 years ago, it held an average of 65,000 people, and could have held at many as 80,000. At various times in its history, the Colosseum featured gladiatorial contests, wild animals freely roaming inside, public spectacles, speeches, and, even, authentic water battles. Over the centuries, it was damaged by earthquakes, stone robbers, and Father Time, but it still stands today; a symbol of Imperial Rome.

Our family took an extremely educational guided tour, and snapped many memorable photographs. Of course, commercialism was alive and well at the entrances, as men dressed as gladiators posed for pictures with customers (visitors, i.e., us!) for a fee. Oh, well, I will do almost any legal thing at least once, which in this case, meant I positioned myself by a Roman "gladiator" for a personal photo!

As I stood at an upper level inside the Colosseum and gazed down on the old floor area, it caused me to pause and reflect on the incredible history of this iconic structure. As a young boy growing up in Our Town, I had seen several movies featuring the Colosseum in gladiator battles, chariot races, and during many Roman historical scenes. The fact as an adult. I was able to actually be there was certainly surreal for me. All my boyhood thoughts and ideas about the Colosseum had turned into on-site reality.

Wow.