The Colosseum was built in the city centre; in effect, placing it in the real and symbolic heart of Rome.
The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished and the building opened by his son, Titus, in 80. Cassius Dio said that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the opening games. The building was changed by Vespasian's younger son, Emperor Domitian. He added the "hypogeum", underground tunnels used to hold the animals and slaves used in the games. He also added a fourth level at the top of the Colosseum to add more seats.
In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by fire. Cassius Dio said the fire was started by lightning. The fire destroyed the wooden upper levels inside the amphitheatre. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Theodosius II and Valentinian III (ruled 425–450), repaired damage caused by an earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The last record of gladiator fights is about 435, while animal hunts continued until at least 523.
The Colosseum went through big changes of use during the medieval period. At the end of the 500's, a small church had been built into a part of the building. The arena was used as a cemetery. The areas under the seating was used for houses and workshops. There are records of the space being rented as late as the 1100s. About 1200, the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and made it into a castle.
During the great earthquake in 1349, the outer south side fell down. Most of the fallen stones were used to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings in Rome. In the middle of the 1300s, a religious group moved into the north part, and were still there in the 1800s. The inside of the Colosseum was used to supply building stones. The marble facade was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were ripped off the walls leaving marks that can still be seen today.
During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials looked for a use for the big and ruined building. Pope Sixtus V (1521–1590) wanted to turn the building into a wool factory to provide jobs for Rome's prostitutes, but he died and the idea given up. In 1671 Cardinal Altieri said it could be used for bullfights. Many people were upset by this idea, it was quickly dropped.
In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV said that the Colosseum was a sacred place where early Christians had been martyred. He stopped people from taking any more building stones away. He set up the Stations of the Cross inside the building. He said the place was made sacred with the blood of the Christian martyrs who had died there. However, there is no historical evidence that any Christians had been killed in the Colosseum.
Later popes started projects to save the building from falling down. They took out the many plants which had overgrown the building and were causing more damage. The facade was made stronger with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827. The inside was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The underground area was partly dug out in 1810–1814 and 1874. This digging was finished by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.
The Colosseum is a free standing building, quite different to the earlier Greek theatres which were built into the sides of hills. It is really two Roman theatres joined together. It is oval shaped, 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide. It covers an area of . The outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet) high. The distance around the building was 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The arena is an oval long and wide, surrounded by a wall high. Around the arena were raised rows of seating.
The outer wall was made from about of travertine stone. This was held together by of iron clamps. There was no mortar used to hold the wall together. The outside wall has been badly damaged over the years. Large sections have fallen down after earthquakes. The north side of the outside wall is still standing. It has triangular brick wedges at each end, added in the early 1800s to hold up the wall. The rest of the outside wall that can be seen today, is in fact the original inside wall.
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (or "amphitheater") is a type of structure. It is a flat area, surrounded by an area that ascends gradually. In the ascending area, people can be seated. Today, such structures are used for presentations, but also spectator sports.
In Ancient Rome, these structures were used to entertain the population. Gladiator combats, athletics and executions were staged there.
A natural amphitheatre is a natural formation of rocks or cliffs, which resemble a man-made amphitheatre.
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus (translates to biggest round-course) is an ancient hippodrome in Rome. It was built by the Romans. It was used to stage chariot races, but also other uses like gladiator fights. Today it is a park.
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016), was an English composer and conductor. He received many honours, including his appointment as Master of the Queen’s Music. His surname was "Davies"; "Maxwell" is his middle name, and his friends called him 'Max'.
Davies was born in Salford, Lancashire. He grew up in Lancashire. He learned to play the piano and started composing when he was still very young. After education at Leigh Grammar School, he studied at the University of Manchester and at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now part of the Royal Northern College of Music). He met other students there who became famous musicians: Harrison Birtwistle, Alexander Goehr, Elgar Howarth and John Ogdon. Together they formed a group which they called the “New Music Manchester”. This group performed a lot of contemporary music (music that was being composed at the time). After a short stay in Rome he got a job as Director of Music at Cirencester Grammar School from 1959 to 1962.
Davies wanted to study with other composers, so he went to the United States to study with Roger Sessions, Milton Babbitt and Earl Kim. Then he moved to Australia, where he was Composer in Residence at the University of Adelaide from 1965 to 1966.
He then returned to the United Kingdom, and moved to the Orkney Islands. Davies, who was openly gay, lived there on the island of Sanday with his partner Colin Parkinson. In 1977 he started a big arts festival on Orkney, called the St Magnus Festival. This still takes place every year. He often uses it to give first performances of new works (often played by the local school orchestra).
Davies held several posts, including Artistic Director of the Dartington Summer School from 1979 to 1984. From 1992 to 2002 he was associate conductor/composer with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and he has conducted a number of other well-known orchestras.
He was given several honorary doctorates including one from the University of Oxford. He has been President of Making Music (The National Federation of Music Societies) since 1989. Davies was made a CBE in 1981 and knighted in 1987. He was appointed Master of the Queen's Music for a ten-year period from March 2004. He was also a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music.
Davies wrote a lot of music. Some of his first works used serial techniques, sometimes combined with ideas from Mediaeval and Renaissance music, including bits of plainsong.