Colosseum

Ever since I did a grade 6 project on the Colosseum it has been the one historical site that I have wanted to see the most. So it was an amazing and powerful experience going to the site of many gladiator fights, animal hunts, and shed blood to entertain the masses of ancient Rome. What struck me was the enormous size of the Colosseum considering the age of the structure - it was built around 80 AD, making it by far the oldest site we have seen so far. 40-70,000 was the capacity of the place. It was also interesting to hear that free citizens often fought as gladiators in search of wealth and fame.

 

We took the guided tour, which was very informative. It was very sad to learn about how gladiators and animals were paradoxically paraded around and cheered for by the same people who cheered for their bloody death hours later. We have seen some sites of the most despicable acts of humanity in history on this trip. Like the holocaust, there has been nothing quite like the gladiatorial games since ancient Rome, but there are some things, such as violent sports, that aren't as dissimilar as we'd like to believe.

 

We also saw the Roman Forum and former site of the Emperor's palace. It struck mjust how much the Emperors built for themselves, relying almost fully on slaves for the building. There seemed to be no regard for how much their luxury cost others.

 

- Andy

 

P.S. Pizza in Italy is the best! (haha, yes, it is Julia adding a note about food)