Construction began between AD 70 and 72 under Emperor Vespasian, just east of the Palatine, on the grounds of the Domus Aurea, Nero’s palace. The artificial lake at the center of the complex was drained to make way for a public amphitheater — a choice as symbolic as it was practical. The popular name, Colosseum, derives from a colossal statue that stood nearby.
Titus, Vespasian’s son and successor, inaugurated the building in AD 80 with a hundred days of games, and Domitian completed the uppermost level in AD 82. The underground levels, built of wood for the inauguration, were rebuilt in masonry under Domitian. In 217, a fire severely damaged the monument, which remained closed until 222.
According to the Parco archeologico del Colosseo, the abolition of gladiatorial games by Valentinian III in 438 marked the start of a slow decline. In the Middle Ages, the amphitheater housed dwellings and workshops and was even turned into a fortress by the Frangipane and Annibaldi families; between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it also served as a quarry, and some of its materials were used to build St. Peter’s Basilica.
Earthquakes, lightning, vandalism, and pollution left deep scars: the marble seats and decorative facings disappeared. The allure of the ruin drew Romantic writers and artists and, in the 19th century, paved the way for systematic excavations and the first preservation efforts; in the 1990s, the monument underwent a new restoration project. In 1980, the Historic Centre of Rome was added to the World Heritage List; in 2007, the Colosseum was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
More than an arena, the Colosseum mirrored Roman society. Spectators entered through 76 numbered arches — on 29 of them, along the north side, the numbers are still visible — and took their places in the cavea according to a strict hierarchy: from the imperial box and the senators’ seats beside the arena to the wooden benches of the plebs at the top. A huge retractable awning, the velarium, maneuvered by sailors, shielded spectators from the sun.
Animal hunts alternated with gladiatorial combat on the program; staged naval battles marked the inaugural celebrations, before the wooden arena was replaced with masonry. Despite popular belief, it is not certain that the arena was ever the scene of Christian martyrdom, as Britannica points out. Architecturally, the superimposition of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders on the facade became a reference for the Renaissance codification of the classical orders.
A living symbol of Rome, the amphitheater appears on the Italian side of the 5-cent euro coin and is the setting for the Good Friday Way of the Cross presided over by the Pope. It periodically hosts temporary exhibitions on antiquity and its dialogue with the present, as well as contemporary performances.
