Colosseum General information

• It was also called the Flavian Amphitheatre  
• The Colosseum is located 41 degrees North and 12 degrees East  
• Piazza del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Rome, Italy
• The Colosseum neighbors the Arch of Constantine, built roughly 250 years after the Colosseum
• The Colosseum was built during 70-80 AD by Vespasian and finished by Titus.
• It could seat 50,000 people and was used for gladiatorial fights and public spectacles such as animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, including sea battles.
• The Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Rome, but stands ruined because of earthquakes and stone robbers.
• The Cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia and the Tiber's river defenses all used the Colosseum as a convenient quarry.
• The sand on the Colosseum floor was used to soak up the blood of killed victims  
• Drains were built 8 meters underneath the structure, to take away the streams that flowed from the surrounding valleys and hills.
• It is situated between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills.
• The Colosseum is actually elliptical and is 189m long and 156m wide, with the outer wall being 48m tall.
• The Colosseum had 80 entrance arches
• The arches were numbered I-LXXVI (1-76), but the four grand entrances were not numbered and were used by the emperor and other high ranking officials. 
• Evidence from other amphitheaters suggests that the average amount of space was about 40 cm wide per spectator and about 70 cm of legroom
• Each of the three exterior floors contain 80 arches, one of the most famed architectural design/decoration that the Romans perfected. The arches were used as not only support, but as a decorative element. Inside the arches of the Colosseum on the second and third levels, there used to be statues of divinities and gods, made of metal and marble.
• The columns used also varied by level. The first level had Doric columns, the most basic. The second level contained Ionic columns. The third level contained the most decorative columns, Corinthian, decorated with flowers and intricate designs.