The Coliseum is the largest amphitheater in Rome, the true symbol of Italy, one of the seven contemporary wonders of the world (by the results of the 2007 poll). His construction lasted for 8 years - from 72 to 80 years on the orders of the emperor of the Flavia dynasty and should show the extraordinary power of the imperial family. The construction of the amphitheater began the Roman emperor Vespasian after the victory in Judea and completed the construction of the 80th year the son of the emperor -Titus.
Gladiatorial games marked the opening of the Coliseum. Roman in the history of Svetoni writes: “During the consecration of the amphitheater and hurriedly built near the baths he [Titus] showed a gladiatorial battle rich; he arranged a naval battle, and then led the gladiators and released on one day five thousand different wild beasts. "
The initial name of the Coliseum, the Amphitheater of Flavius, used the current name much later, from the VIII century. For a long time, the Colosseum was for the inhabitants of Rome and visitors to the main place of entertainment: gladiator battles, naval battles (probably under construction of the cellar under the reign of Brother Titus, used the current name much later, from the VIII century. For a long time, the Colosseum was for the inhabitants of Rome and visitors to the main place of entertainment: gladiator battles, naval battles (probably under construction of the cellar under the reign of Brother Titus, Emperor Domitian). Subsequently, the fire partially destroyed the amphitheater, but by order of was restored. In 248, Empire whale
After the invasion of the barbarians, the amphitheater of Flavius again undergoes partial destruction. From the 11th century to 1132, the Colosseum served as a fortress for notable Roman families. Subsequently, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry VII, presented the Colosseum to the Roman Senate and the people. Back in 1332, the local aristocracy arranged bullfight battles here, which was one reason for the systematic destruction of the Coliseum. In the 15th and 16th centuries, I used the building materials of the amphitheater to build the Venetian palace, Cardinal Rialto - Palace of the Office, Paul III - Farnese Palace, and others like that. Much of the amphitheater still survived, although the building remained distorted.
Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) was the first to receive the Colosseum in his defense. He ordered to put in the middle of his arena a huge cross, and around - a series of altars in memory go to Calvary and the death of the Savior. I took this cross and altars from the Coliseum only in 1874. The Pope, who followed Benedict XIV, Pius VII, and Leo XII, continued to take care of the preservation of the surviving parts of the building and reinforced walls that threatened the fall, and Pius IX also engaged in the internal arrangement of the Coliseum.
The current Coliseum is guarded by the Italian government, under whose command, under the direction of archaeologists, I inserted fragments of the building into former places, and they carried excavations out on the arena, with which a large part of the basements opened. Despite all the hardships, the trials of the Coliseum, their ruins, although they have not kept the former species, still make an extraordinary impression.
Now the Colosseum has become a symbol of Rome and one of the most popular tourist attractions. In the XXI century, according to the polls, they recognized the Colosseum as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.
Architecture Like many other amphitheaters, the Colosseum forms an ellipse, within which an arena of the same shape. Of all the buildings of this Coliseum is different. This is the most magnificent ancient amphitheater: the length of its outer ellipse is 524 me, the length of the arena is 85.75 m, its width is 53.62 m, and the height of its walls is 48 to 50 meters. For such sizes, it could accommodate about 50 000 spectators. I build the Coliseum on a concrete foundation with a thickness of 13 meters.
The architectural solution used during the construction of the Coliseum, and today used for the construction of stadiums: the set of inputs are throughout the perimeter of the building. Thanks to this, the crowd could fill the Coliseum in 15 minutes and leave for 5 minutes. The Coliseum had 80 entries; they assigned of which 4 to the higher nobility and led to the lower row. Ordinary spectators entered the amphitheater from under the arches of the lower floor. I located these places around the entire arena in the form of rows of stone lavas rising one above the other. I intended the lower row, or the podium only for the emperor, his family, and senators, and the emperor had a special place that grew above the others. They separated the sublime from the arena by a parapet, high enough to protect viewers from attacking animals. Further, there were places for the ordinary public, forming three tiers. In the first tier which contained 20 rows of lavas (today destroyed), the city authorities sat; I intended The second tier, comprising 16 rows of lavas for people with the rights of Roman citizenship. The wall separating the second tier from the third It was high, and I located lanes of the third tier on a steeper sloping surface to give visitors to the third tier the opportunity to better see the arena and everything happening on it. During the performance, the sailors of the imperial fleet stretched over the huge amphitheater a huge awning to protect the viewers from the burning rays of the sun or bad weather.
The cost of building material used for the construction of an amphitheater - at the prices of that time was about 8 million francs. The Colosseum is a symbol of the greatness of Rome, not without reason saying: “While Colosseum stands - Rome will stand, the Colosseum will disappear - Rome will disappear and the entire world will disappear with it.”
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