Rome, Italy
Colosseum
Know what you’re looking at before you walk inside.
4 chapters · 17 Articles · 3+ Hourspreparation
Before you go
Tickets
€18 (24-hour access)
Guided tour
1.5-3.5 hours
Terrain
Uneven volcanic terrain
Water
Free fountains throughout
Prepare for your visit:
Understand the colosseum before you arrive
Four chapters take you from what the Colosseum actually is, through its engineering and spectacles, to the fifteen centuries that followed the games.
01
6 Articles
55 Min
What You’re Visiting
The Scale of a visit to the colosseum archaological park
The Colosseum Archaeological Park
FREE
Scale, Design, and First Impressions
Vespasian’s Grand Undertaking
Why Is It Called the Colosseum?
Unteaching Pop History: Hollywood Myths
FREE
Unteaching Pop History: Hollywood Myths
DEEP DIVE
02
4 Articles
37 Min
What Made The Colosseum an Engineering Marvel
How Roman Engineers Built An enormous structure on a drained lake in less than a decade
The Colosseum: Engineering from Bottom to Top
The Hypogeum: The Underground Machine
Roman Concrete
DEEP DIVE
The Arches of the Colosseum
DEEP DIVE
03
5 Articles
44 Min
The Events and the Performers at the Arena
What actually happened in the arena was much more organized than popular culture thinks
What a Game Day at the Colosseum Was Actually Like
The Evolution of the Gladiatorial Sport
The Reality of the Gladiatorial System
Did Romans Actually Enjoy These Games?
Animals: The Million-Beast Massacre
04
2 Articles
22 Min
The Colosseum After the Games Ended
The ampitheatre’s next 15 centuries as shelter, sacred ground, fortress, quarry, ruin and monument
The Colosseum’s Second Life
Challenges the Colosseum has Faced