The Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Sunday, May 28 - 3:30 pm

Begin peeling back Rome's past at the Colosseum, the city's most popular relic (legend has it that as long as the Colosseum stands, so shall the city of Rome). From the start, the Romans were expert builders. They pioneered the use of concrete and the rounded arch, which enabled them to build on this tremendous scale. This awesome example of ancient Roman engineering was begun in A.D. 72, when the Empire was nearing its peak.
Imagine being an ancient spectator arriving for the games. Fans poured in through ground-floor entrances. Your ticket (likely a piece of pottery) was marked with your entrance, section, row, and seat number. Stepping inside, you can almost hear the roar of the Empire. Ancient Romans, whose taste for violence exceeded even modern America's, came to the Colosseum to unwind. The games began with a few warm-up acts — dogs attacking porcupines, female gladiators fighting each other, or a one-legged man battling a dwarf. Then came the main event: the gladiators. The best were rewarded like our modern sports stars, with fan clubs, great wealth, and, yes, product endorsements.

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