Rome: The Eternal City: Roma ti amo!

Roma ti amo! In other words, I love you Rome! On Saturday March 2, 2013 I got the opportunity to get an exclusive tour of the Colosseum with an archaeologist for a tour guide. The tour group got to go to several places within the Colosseum that the average visitor does not get to see and experience. It was especially great to have the tour guided and be able to really stand where the ancient Romans stood. I was transported back in time, and if I closed my eyes or focused on what our guide was saying I could almost see the gladiators walking by me, hear the lions and bears in their cages waiting for release into the great unknown, hear the roar of the crowd of thousands that the Colosseum held back in the first century.

My archaeologist guide described what took place here almost 2,000 years ago as a real life movie set. The ancient Romans would create huge jungle scenes and the like for their spectators. Except in these scenes the people were actually killed. The Colosseum was also built for the people. It was a building for the Emperor Vespasian and later Titus to gain favor and approval of the people of Rome. Before them in 64 AD there was a great fire that destroyed much of the area, and after this the current Emperor Nero took control of the area and built a giant mansion for himself along with an artificial lake. This the people were not fans of, so eventually because he was such a corrupt Emperor one day he found a dagger in his bed chamber. This symbolized that either he could make it easy for his assassins or be killed the hard way (He chose the easy way out and took his own life). Then after him the lake and parts of his house were destroyed and the Colosseum was born.

View from the arena floor

The ancient Romans were all about their dramatics. They were very intriguing to learn about. I especially enjoyed all of this history while I was standing among the still standing buildings.

Arena floor view

killer cat that lives in the Colosseum

We also had a friend on our tour. What a life this cat has, he gets to prowl around the Colosseum like he is the boss here without a care in the world. Even though he missed the gladiatorial games by about 2,000 years.

View from the underground

The next part of the Colosseum that we visited was the underground. Underneath where all of the behind the scenes activity took place. Where the animals were kept before they fought the gladiators or other animals. This is where some of the gladiators may have been held, at least the slaves that would fight gladiators were kept down here until it was their turn. There were quite a few contraptions to raise the people and animals up onto the arena floor. The marble down here is also the whitest in the entire place because the exhaust from the cars that turned the outside brown is unable to reach the marble down here.

Our next stop on the tour was the considered the nose-bleed section of ancient times. It was among the highest points of the Colosseum, but I personally think that they had the best view of the ancient city of Roma. They may not have been able to see or view the games as well as senators or officials that sat lower but they had a different kind of view.