Colosseum | Rome, Italy 
We toured Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. I could feel the energy, power, death & history as we walked thru the Gladiator’s entrance and on to the Arena floor. - Titus Arch was massive. Beautiful Intricate carving underneath.
It was during the heat wave in Rome, temperature soared to 109°. Hottest in history of Rome. Rome literally closed for a day.
I Wanted to share some facts we learned about the Colosseum. Some are hard to read I know.
* The Colosseum aka also the Flavian Amphitheater is the biggest amphitheater in the world. 620 by 513 feet
* It is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
* You can see the section of the arena that was once underground, maze of tunnels & cages, where the gladiators waited their turn to fight, and where wild animals were kept before being released into the arena by man powered elevators
* It was a very violent time. Fighting, slaughtering of animals, and killing people for entertainment.
* 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.
* According to experts, around 400,000 gladiators were killed. Appx 1,000,000 animals died over the 390 years that the amphitheater was active
* Gladiators were generally enslaved peoples, condemned criminals or prisoners of war.
My thoughts: It made us sad to think of all the people and animals that were killed there for entertainment. We chose not to walk in the underground area to see where the animals were kept. I was surprised how massive the Colosseum was. I had only seen it in movies and books but when you’re standing on the arena floor, it’s massive, powerful, enveloping & overwhelming.
