The Flavian Amphitheatre

Rome owes its symbol to the farsightedness of the three emperors of the Flavian dynasty. The biggest amphitheatre of the ancient world was built in less than ten years. Commenced by Vespasian in the year 72, inaugurated by Titus in 80 and finally completed by Domitian, it held over 50,000 spectators. Travertine limestone, tuff, marble and brick were used to erect a masterpiece of imperial architecture and propaganda. Funded with the spoils from the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE, it was built in the valley already expropriated by Nero to create the artificial lake of his magnificent residence the Domus Aurea. It is indeed the colossal bronze statue of Nero at the entrance to his “Golden House” that gave the amphitheatre the name by which it has been known since medieval times: the Colosseum.

Rome, in the year 4018. After the melting of the polar icecaps and the great earthquake of 2235, the city and its port were abandoned. The ruins of many twentieth-century buildings remain; they attract millions of visitors each year. The biggest draw Is the famous bathroom with bidet, a priceless artefact that to this day signals the superiority of Italian culture and manufacturing. Debate continues to rage about the idea of holding concerts in the incredibly fragile theatre at Corviale, which is already seriously threatened by storm tides. Rome, in the year 2018. Take a stroll around the Coliseum, along the Via Sacra, walk under the Arch of Titus, climb the Palatine hill and take a look. Allow yourself a sigh of relief. You are very lucky!

The Colosseum staged events for nearly five centuries, from the year 80 to 523. The programme started in the morning with venationes, where animals from all over the empire were pitted against one another or against men, and then executions, followed in the afternoon by fights between gladiators. The games could go on for months. Titus inaugurated the amphitheatre in the year with no fewer than 100 consecutive days of events.

It was Domitian that ordered the building of the hypogeum, an authentic backstage area beneath the arena. By the light of torches, hundreds of perfectly drilled men worked a complex system of hoists, pulleys and elevators to raise and lower the animals and the scenery through the trapdoors of the wooden platform of the arena concealed beneath the sand.

The two entrances on the major axis of the arena were dedicated to the gladiators, the real stars of the show. Cheered on and revered by spectators, they fought in pairs with different weapons after years of tough training, placing their fate in the hands of the public and the emperor's final decision. Losers could only hope not to leave the arena through the Porta Libitinaria, the gate reserved for the dead and dying.

The tiered seating in the cavea was according to rank: the plebeians or ordinary citizens at the top, the equites or nobles in the middle, and the senators, who enjoyed the honour of having their names carved into the marble, closest to the arena. Two special boxes on the minor axis were reserved for the emperor, the Vestal Virgins and high-ranking figures.