Il Colosseo (ending the holiday on a grand scale)
Our second tour of our last day in Rome
An evening tour of the Colosseum.
No words are necessary really.
But I'll say a few anyway...
Our guide was another gorgeous Italian woman
who remained cool calm and collected despite the heat (much like the bella donna below)
and conducted the entire evening tour in heels!!!!
I tried to look the part - but really wasn't a patch the Italian women.
How do they do it?
The Colosseum was built between AD 72 and AD 80 and was the largest amphitheater ever built.
As the sun went down we started to feel a little more human and couldn't wait to begin the tour.
Our guide took us up and down stairs, telling us all about how seating was arranged.
It's surprisingly similar to going to see a concert in a large entertainment centre today.
The floor of the original arena is gone but it gives one a wonderful birds eye view of the workings of beneath the stage.
We were taken downstairs and through all the corridors where once slaves and gladiators walked.
She showed us the lift mechanisms where wild animals were hoisted above to feast on unfortunate criminals and the odd Christian.
Because it was a night tour there were no crowds,
All was quiet except for the voice of the guide.
She was so knowledgeable about the daily life of the Colosseum that it was very easy to imagine the activity that once occurred where we stood.
If you're ever in Rome in Summer - heck even if you're there in Winter - I'd advise you to take the night tour of Il Colosseo.
You won't be disappointed.
The Colosseum, Rome - July 2015
Oh - wow!!!
ReplyDeleteWow is right :)
DeleteFor me it was real horror to hear what things happened here, and what made spectators come to a watch a 'show'..
ReplyDeleteLoved your photos, an evening tour seems the best thing to do!
I think this is why history is so important. You hear the good and the bad and hopefully learn from past mistakes.
DeleteWOW, WOW, WOW, WOW !!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree. :)
DeleteA magnificent place. I remember a documentary on the questions about its engineering, with a man who designs today's arenas taking a look at it. The experts ran computer simulations between his work and this place about crowd evacuations, and this place still stands up just as well as modern structures in those simulations. It is an astounding achievement.
ReplyDeleteThe guide actually explained the evacuation processes as well. I was quite impressed, but very happy I didn't need to be evacuated this time :)
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