Thursday, January 31, 2013

Colossal Facts About the Coliseum!


Earlier this year, Mrs. Ranney's class read a story that took place in Italy. One of our own classmates, Aidan, has traveled to Italy and has some great experiences to share!

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During spring break of last year, I went to Italy for vacation.  We spent most of our time in Rome and then went to Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri.  I learned a lot about ancient Roman art, architecture, and engineering marvels.   
 In this blog post, I will take you on an online tour of the Roman Coliseum!






The Coliseum in Rome is a giant, elliptically-shaped amphitheatre that is built out of travertine stone.  It can hold about 50,000 spectators.   The coliseum is 615 feet long and 510 feet wide. The height of the outer wall is 157 feet!  The inside area is about 6 acres, or about the area of 6 football fields. The construction of the coliseum was completed in 80 A.D.  
 I think it’s amazing that it took only 10 years for the whole structure to be built – and that was without any modern machinery or equipment. 






The Coliseum got its name from the colossal  statue of Emperor Nero, which was next to it.  The statue was removed once Emperor Nero was no longer in power.  This colossal structure is still considered one of the greatest examples of Roman architecture and engineering.   It was a really interesting site.  



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Has anyone else ever traveled to Rome or any place else in Italy?

 If you have traveled to Italy, what did you think was the most interesting place you visited?
 
Can you add any facts about the Coliseum or other sites in Rome?



6 comments:

  1. Dear Aidan F,

    We have not gone to Italy, but we would like to go there. It looks so fun to there. Did you have fun there? What kind of place did you stay in?

    From,
    Cate and Anjolee

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Anjolee and Cate,

    Going to Italy was really fun. I stayed in a hotel named Hotel Lancelot, and it was 300 yards from the Coliseum! You could drink out of fountains all over the city. Not just water fountains, but 2,000 year old,big Roman fountains - like the famous Trevi Fountain.

    Another thing fun about Rome was their spectacular gelato. It is just like ice cream, but much thicker. There was actually a gelato parlor with 150 flavors! Mmmmm...tasty.

    Sincerely,

    Aidan F :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Aidan,

    I have never been to Rome, but my dad and stepmom have been there. The Coliseum looks so big in the pictures. I think it would be cool to see it in person.

    From,

    Zachary



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Zachary,

      Seeing the Coliseum up close is really fun! You could actually see part of the original floor. You could also see the cages where they kept the animals, and if you stood near the railing, It looked like you were standing on the cages! If you look in the bottom right of picture 3, you can actually see part of a cage. I am just guessing that it was a tiger's cage.

      Yours Truly,

      Aidan F

      Delete
  4. Dear Aidan F,

    I have not been to the Coliseum before, but my mom and dad went in 2000. Hey, that was the turn of the century! Aidan F, was chocolate one of the 150 flavors at that ice cream place? If so, I would like to go there, because I LOVE chocolate. Yum!

    Cheers,
    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Alex,

    Yes, chocolate was a flavor. Believe it or not, there were 3 flavors of chocolate: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. There was gelato everywhere, even in the coliseum! You could get sugar cones, waffle cones, waffle cones dipped in chocolate, and even waffle cones dipped in chocolate later dipped in sprinkles. SUGAR RUSH! If you plan on going to Rome and eating gelato, make to bring your walking shoes. You will really need them in order to avoid gaining 20 pounds on your trip!

    Ciao,

    Aidan F

    ReplyDelete

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