Rome 2018: Inside the Colosseum

After a bit of walking, my parents and I arrived at our first major sightseeing stop in Rome: the ruins of the Colosseum. With our Roma Passes in hand we skipped the ticket line and once we had gone through the security checkpoint we were wandering through what might be Rome’s most popular tourist attraction. I had visited the Colosseum back in 2012 and it was just as cool to visit it the second time, though I could have done without the rain that was falling that day. In the higher of the two levels open to individual visitors I took today’s photo, which doesn’t capture the sheer immensity of the place but gives a decent idea of it. The Colosseum was built in the heart of ancient Rome and back in its glory days it is estimated to have been able to hold possibly as many as 80,000 spectators. On a few occasions it even held mock naval battles. In the center of today’s photo you can see the remains of area underneath the arena’s floor where prisoners, wild animals, gladiators, and others were readied prior to their appearances before the crowds. The scaffolding you see in that middle area wasn’t around when I first visited in 2012 and I’m guessing it is part of some sort of restoration work.

I think we spent a little under an hour at the Colosseum. We walked around, took lots of photos, and also checked out the exhibits that have been set up in some of the inner areas. Even with the crowds it was still a sight to behold and I think my parents enjoyed it quite a bit.