Anfiteatro Flavio, Colosseo

Probably, almost all tourists first get acquainted with Rome begins with its main symbol - the Colosseum. Fortunately, it is easy to get to it - there is a metro station nearby, which is also called-Colosseo (on the map). I immediately remembered an anecdote about "stupid American tourists" who appreciated this: "Smart Romans built the Colosseum next to the metro, very convenient."

Today, the famous ruins were surrounded by a huge queue of people who wanted to see the ancient miracle for free, as today the museums of Rome hold an open day. The schedule of such days is strictly classified, the administration of museums finds out about it late the night before, otherwise the whole of Europe would have come to Rome. Now this is already in the past, as since 2013, more than four hundred museums in Italy hold such an action every last Sunday of the month.

Fortunately, we did not have to wait in line, as the tour time was set in advance and a local guide was already waiting for us at the entrance. Well, the money for the entrance tickets, of course, was returned to us, so the payment was only for the tour.

I still had to stand for a while, but already under the vaults of ancient arches.

In the meantime, you can get some insight into the construction technologies of ancient Rome.

You can only wonder at the quality of stone processing, the blocks are laid almost without gaps.

Holes in the walls were designed for forged metal beams that held the supporting columns together - Roman engineers had taken care of the earthquake resistance of the structure. After the amphitheater was abandoned, for many centuries it was slowly torn apart for the construction of neighboring palaces and villas. Metal elements were the most valuable, since metal was very expensive in those days. Despite the fact that the structure was significantly weakened, the Colosseum has been standing for almost two thousand years, although, of course, it has suffered a lot from numerous earthquakes.

Across the road from the Colosseum, you can see the remains of buildings that were less fortunate.

We climb one of the stairs leading to the second level. These entrances are located around the entire perimeter of the amphitheater. In total, the Colosseum has 80 exits, including 4 for the most notable spectators, which were located in the lower row. The capacity of the portals is such that it was possible to fill the huge stands with spectators in 15 minutes, and in case of emergencies, people could leave the building in 5 minutes. The principles laid down by Roman architects are also used in modern entertainment structures.

The audience got to the stands from under the arches of the lower floor by stairs marked with numbers from I to LXXVI.

It should be noted that the stairs have quite high steps, which are even more inconvenient to go down than to climb up. How it is possible to bring out a huge number of people on such steps in 5 minutes is difficult to imagine.

Зрительские места размещались вокруг арены и представляли собой ряды каменных уступов-скамей, называвшихся по латыни gradus. Сейчас от них только остались только несущие элементы, местами сохранились покатые плоскости.

По записям античных летописцев, амфитеатр вмещал 87 тысяч зрителей, однако, как показывают расчеты, трибуны вмещали не более 50 тысяч. В одном из секторов часть трибуны приведена в аутентичное состояние.

 Нижний ряд назывался podium и предназначался для высшей знати - императора с семейством и сенаторов.

Император сидел на возвышении, именуемом pulvinar.

Подиум был отделен от арены высоким парапетом, который защищал зрителей от нападения диких животных, участвующих в представлениях.

Выше находились места для публики, образующие три яруса, называвшихся maeniana.

Здесь тоже действовал "табель о рангах". Первый ярус из 20 рядов занимали городские чиновники и так называемые всадники (equites) - первоначально воины-патриции, ставшие впоследствии финансовой аристократией.

16 rows of the second tier were occupied by plebeians (plebejus). The plebs in ancient Rome had a slightly different meaning than today - they were artisans, merchants, landowners, free peasants with Roman citizenship.

The third tier was separated from the second by a high wall, behind which sat the lower class - hired artisans, peasants, and freed slaves. The stands here had a steeper slope, which allowed a good view of what was happening in the arena.

Later, already in the era of Domitian Flavius, a fourth level was added, intended for the poor, slaves and women. Most of the audience of the "gallery" was content with standing places only.

Above the third tier was a high wall with rare openings, which protected the amphitheater from wind and sun, and also served as the base for the construction of a huge tent, which stretched over the stands (velarium).

For the management of the tent, the sailors of the Imperial Navy were placed on the roof of the portico above the third tier.

The audience seats were supported by powerful vaulted structures that formed corridors-itinera.

Various office and public premises were located here.

Well, we will look at the Colosseum Museum, located in one of the galleries of the second tier.