Story about the Colosseum

The Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum, was the first, large stable amphitheater in Rome. Previously, the city had only been able to enjoy two wooden structures from the Julio-Claudian period. It was built on the initiative of the Emperor Vespasian starting from 72 AD, in the area (at the eastern edge of the Roman Forum) previously occupied by the artificial lake of Nero's Domus Aurea. They built it in just ten years, with truly exceptional organizational skills. But the Romans were masters in this: we know that the construction works followed a very rigorous schedule and were divided between four coordinated construction sites. According to tradition, the Colosseum owes its name to a nearby statue of Nero, which due to its extraordinary size was known as "the colossus". In reality, however, it is possible that the name is linked to the size of this amphitheater. The Colosseum is in fact huge and mighty. The building was completed by Titus, son, and successor of Vespasian, who added the third and fourth-order of seats, inaugurating it, in 80 AD, in its final version. We know that that year Tito organized a hundred days of games, during which about 2, 000 gladiators and 9, 000 animals died. Further changes to the Colosseum were made on the initiative of Domitian, who had the undergrounds dug. This new intervention aimed at making the management of the shows easier but probably prevented, from that moment on, the preparation of the naumachiae (ie the simulations of naval battles), which provided for the flooding of the arena. After the sixth century, the structure was abandoned and reused over time as a quarry for building material: it proceeded, in short, to its systematic demolition, which ended only in 1675, when the amphitheater was dedicated to the memory of Christian martyrs.