The Coliseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre is one of the top pieces of Roman architecture and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Trying to conquer the affection of the Roman crowds, who demanded "bread and games", the emperors were building amphitheatres, where gladiators fought to their death, wild beasts were hunted for entertainment, and even sea battles, called naumachias, were staged. As far as the latter is concerned the arenas had to be filled with water to make sea battles more realistic. The construction of the biggest roman amphitheatre began during the rule of emperor Vespasian in 72 A.D. and finished during the rule of Titus, his son. The gigantic construction represents an oval structure (the length of the longer axis is 188 meters, and the shorter is 156 meters), the length of the outer circumference is 527 meters; the height of the walls is approximately 50 meters. The Coliseum could fit up to 50,000 visitors. Right next to the Coliseum there was a statue of Nero, of the Flavian dynasty. Perhaps that was the reason why the Coliseum got its original name. Although, according to another hypothesis the Coliseum got its name in the Middle Ages due to its colossal proportions. By the way, the practical Romans found good use to Nero's statue by replacing its head every time a new emperor would pass to the throne.
From outside the Coliseum represents an impressive three level arcade, above which a solid rock wall rises upwards. On the first level there were columns fulfilled in a strict Doric order, on the second level the columns were in the lighter and more elegant Ionic order, on the third level there were semi-columns, and on the fourth level there were pilasters fulfilled in a fancy Corinthian order. Thus, the higher you go the more decorated the wall looks. As far as the second and third level tiers are concerned, the arches, which are empty nowadays, used to have statues inside, making the building look a lot more pompous and impressive. The brackets, located on the wall of the fourth level tier served as support for tents. The tents served to protect viewers from the sun. The Coliseum is made from tuff, the exterior walls – from travertine, and in addition, brick and concrete were used during its construction.
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