Colosseum and Ancient Rome

We visited the Colosseum today with a tour of the underground where the gladiators waited to fight. The picture above is the hallway leading to the staircase that brought them into the arena. The underground is a series of tunnels and rooms where prisoners (involuntary gladiators), animals and hundreds of people worked to create the “shows” for the Roman elite.

The arched areas below were animal cages.

This is an elevator that has been reconstructed. It was used to move “sets” between shows.

This corridor runs the length of the Colosseum underground and was used to move people and animals between shows.

This is the staircase leading to the entrance to the arena of the Colosseum. It is dark and small. The opening to the arena is a suddenly bright, glaring experience.

 A view of the arena. The underground was covered with wood flooring that was covered in sand. The stomping noises of the crowd would have been overwhelming when hearing it from below.

Surrounding the Colosseum are ruins of Ancient Rome comprised of 12 centuries of growth beginning before Christ. They built cities, churches and palaces on top of each other frequently recycling materials and recreating landscapes.

The picture above is of original marble and granite floors from all over the world that lined one of the palaces. The palace was built on top of Nero’s palace which is being excavated underneath the dirt and black covered windows.

This was a central fountain inside a palace that was then covered by another palace over time. You can see the layers of the buildings in the different rocks in the wall.

Americanos in Ancient Rome. This area contains layers of cities built on top of each other over 12 centuries. We are standing at the original ground level with the current ground level in the background under the tallest tan building directly behind us.

Homemade lemon basil gelato is Eden’s most fave ❤️

Trevi Fountain with about 2,000 close friends 🙄