Tours in Rome by Cristina Giannicchi
Colosseum Tour
Time: 3 hours
When: daily
Skip the line: direct access to the Colosseum
Tickets not included
The Colosseum, called the “Flavian Amphitheater” during ancient times, was built by the Flavian dynasty for a political propaganda event. The inauguration party games lasted for 100 days, during which thousands of gladiators and animals died. Remembered in the Christian literature as a place of martyrs, it was truly one of the principal places of entertainment for the Roman citizens, who were fed on panem et circenses (bread and games).
Today the Roman Forum is a small valley of archeological ruins in the heart of Rome, with column pieces, marble blocks, triumphal arches, and remains of walls, but in the golden time of ancient Rome, between 100 BC and 300 AD, it was the central square of the city where people from all over the Empire, politicians and merchants, gathered and conducted their business. Facing the main square were the Roman Senate Hall (Curia), the Court Halls (Basicilicas), and the most important temples.
The Palatine is the hill on which Rome was born. Today ruins of the first age of Rome, the Rumulean Huts, still exist. But surely, what is more fascinating to the modern visitor, is the idea that within those walls, abandoned today, an ancient God was living, the Emperor was living with his family. From the Palatine Hill you will have a superb view of the Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum.
