Tour Of Rome Colosseum: A Monument of Majesty

Panoramic View from Above | Tour of Rome Colosseum 

Tour of Rome Colosseum | The view of Rome from the top floors is breathtaking, especially from the Forum. Also visible are the Arch of Constantine, the columns and apse of the Temple of Venus and Rome, the Romanesque bell tower of Santa Francesca Romana in the background, and the magnificent proportions of the Arch of Titus. Vespasian had the idea of building this amphitheater (The Colosseum) on the site of the gardens of Nero’s Domus Aurea. Before the works were completed, the emperor died in 79, and his son Titus inaugurated them. Domitian (81-96) completed the decoration of the building. Since these three emperors were part of the Flavian dynasty, the Colosseum first bore the name of Amphitheatrum Flavium, then took its current name around the 8th century AD since it appears in the famous prophecy of the time which says that as long as the Colosseum lasts Rome will live and that when Rome dies, the whole world will disappear. It is still being determined, however, whether it owes its name to its imposing size or to the immense statue of Nero in gilded bronze, which stood nearby.

Modern Rome: Urbanization and Change

Tour of Rome Colosseum | Soon after, the Church faced the wave of Protestantism that devastated Catholic Europe. Charles V’s sack of Rome once again endangered the city’s finances. Still, the Counter-Reformation restored the clergy’s authority and allowed the construction of sumptuous churches to the glory of God. Sixtus V’s fiscal reforms ensured the wealth of the popes who succeeded him and that of Gian Lorenzo Bernini—two centuries passed before the city experienced a rebirth after the height of the Baroque. In 1870, the Pope had to cede his temporal powers to the House of Savoy, and Rome became the capital of united Italy. An extensive urbanization program was undertaken to house the various ministries of the new kingdom. Centralization continued under Mussolini, and Rome could still easily compete with Brussels regarding the number of its civil servants.
The population currently amounts to more than three million inhabitants. Entire streets have been built in the suburbs without respect for urban planning laws and don’t even appear on official plans. The city council, the Municipality of Rome, presides over the city’s fate on the heights of the Capitoline Hill in the Palazzo Senatorio designed by Michelangelo, and the decisions taken there prove impossible to implement. A typically Roman fact, the city’s magnificent fountains are still fed with pure spring water, transported from distant hills by aqueducts. Centuries of religious domination had made the Romans anticlerical and rebellious against authority, but they seemed resigned to this state of affairs and immutability.

The Construction Techniques

The construction of the Colosseum required a complex technique. After draining the artificial lake on its site, the architects poured a layer of pozzolana (cement composed of sand of volcanic origin) 7.50 m thick. The size and weight of the building, which could accommodate 60,000 people, represented a huge problem that was solved with the construction of circular walls made of tuff (volcanic stone) and barrel vaults that supported the stands and corridors.