April 17 - Colosseum Pictures

Thank you to our hotel manager for his assistance and the use of his laptop.  We have now been able to post some pictures.  The first picture was taken from a small piazza above the Colosseo Metro Station showing Sue in front of the Colosseum.  The next two pictures show us inside the Colosseum on the third level.  This level overlooks the floor of the stadium where the gladiators fought.  The arena is huge.  On our tour we also walked around the lower (basement) level where the wild animals were caged and where the gladiators prepared for battle.  Here as well, many slaves worked to operate the winches to position the animals and the sets for each performance.  As well as jungle and desert landscapes it is even thought they were able to stage battles at sea.  There is evidence to suggest the stadium floor could be flooded with water.

As stunning as this may all seem, we were most in awe at the age of this structure which was completed in A.D. 80.  We were standing in the same place with the same outlook as others had experienced nearly 2000 years ago.