Roman Colosseum, Italy • 360° Aerial Panorama
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First of all we would like to thank our colleague Henk Keijzer who kindly gave us a panorama with the beautiful view inside the Colosseum which has been added to our virtual tour. And now we are going to tell you about couple of historical facts...
The Colosseum is a monument with a great history. It probably wouldn't even have been built if not for the vanity of the Emperor Vespasian, Nero's successor. In his attempt to outshine the glory of the former ruler, in 70 AD Vespasian ordered to build a huge amphitheater, which could amaze everyone with its beauty and magnitude.
His plan was a success: amphitheater turned out to be so gigantic that its original name after the Flavian dynasty didn't stick. Colosseus means huge, gigantic, and it was and remains the largest of its kind.
Like other Roman amphitheaters, the Colosseum in Rome is an ellipse with an arena in its center. The length of the outer ellipse is 524 meters, the length of the long axis is 188 meters, and the length of the minor axis is 156 meters. This is an absolute record. The world's second-largest amphitheater named after Mark Anthony Gordian located in Tunis has an ellipse of only 425 meters.
Roman Colosseum is even more impressive on the inside. The length of its arena is 86 meters, width is 54 meters, and walls height ranges from 48 to 50 meters. With size like this it can accommodate about 50,000 spectators (and the aforementioned Tunis landmark can accommodate only 30,000 people).
There was a statue on each arch between the middle and upper circles of the Colosseum; ceilings with colorful plaster and outside walls were decorated with bronze ornaments.
The Roman Colosseum had 76 entrances for the general public and a few more for the emperor, the nobility, and gladiators. It was designed so that visitors could leave the Colosseum in five minutes.
While this colossus was built relatively quickly, in just 8 years, its creator, Vespasian, did not live to see the grand opening day. The new amphitheater welcomed its first audience under the rule of the Roman Emperor Titus, Vespasian's successor. The celebration of this event, which lasted 100 days straight, involved 2000 gladiators and 5000 wild animals.
Furthermore, technology of that time allowed filling the arena with water several meters in depth. Water was pumped through the system of water channels built under the arena. And in this improvised lake, in addition to gladiator fights and other on-land events, there were also galley water battles.
Along with the historic center of Rome, the Colosseum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2007 it also earned the place in the list of the New Wonders of the World, beating dozens of prominent world landmarks, such as Hagia Sophia in Turkey or Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.
However, today the Colosseum in Rome is not a magnificent amphitheater, but rather an example of strict minimalism. During two centuries of its existence it survived the invasion of barbarians and fires, each time losing a piece of its appearance. But it was damaged not only by the environment or enemies. During Middle Ages the Colosseum was considered a stock of free construction materials, and it was a common practice to take stones from the walls of the Colosseum for different needs of the city.
Nowadays, not only exhaust gas, vibration from heavy city traffic, and constant flow of tourists, but also weather in Rome causes damage to the Colosseum: wind and frost were the last straw. The ancient amphitheater has about three thousand cracks, and it constantly losing some of its pieces.
So it's time to look at this dying giant, which appears on every travel pictures of Rome, and to think about the transience of time ...
Photography by Stanislav Sedov and Dmitriy Moiseenko
Comments
5 from 5"i was amazed if we can say that by the quality of viewing and the full control of it, i always wanted to visit the colosseum and rome but now i can just visit it by my computer, so thanks so much for your efforts, good job .."
serfag feriel, Algeria
5 from 5"Amazing panorama. Choice of sunset hour is stroke of genius. The music draws the deep yearning of the place and people. Thank you!!"
Chang-Wuk Kang, USA
"Una maravilla de grandes proporsiones"
Marco Silva Silva, Peru
5 from 5"You are giving us tremendous, Fantastic images that raelise us the world is so beautiful. Thank You For Giving us world glimps."
Sukhvinder Singh, India
"i want to visit there and this is my first desire."
riaz afridi, Pakistan
5 from 5"Our family enjoyed watching your beautiful panorama of places we've visited which your team had shown in a different perspective. We are more grateful now of our chance to be in those places and appreciate that you gave us a portal to wonder around in awe, not as tourists."
Socchie Fondevilla, USA
"italy is so beautifull country & i love there"
shadi minafar, Iran
"me gusto mucho saludos"
andres saldivar, Mexico
5 from 5"I was born and bred in rome...I didn't know it was so beautiful!"
cristina siegel, USA
5 from 5"ive been to the roman coliseum and it was the bomb"
chase hagenkord, USA
5 from 5"Totally awesome! Love you all for doing this for us. :)"
Anita Morris, Canada
5 from 5"Roma is truly the city you must see if you travelto. I have been there many times and I never tire of it. Thank you for your art. Howard Koontz, Maryland"
Howard Koontz, USA
5 from 5"its so much fun&tank you."
amir behpaee, Iran
5 from 5"Congratulations for this wonderful site I know neither other Brazilian states nor other countries but this site leave me know the world"
Carlos Amorim, Brazil
5 from 5"very very best"
yaser hassanzadeh, Indonesia
"likeeee"
mohsen mohamadnezhad, Iran
5 from 5"Excellent, I felt i was there"
BS Kumar, India
"Rome is nice, but Romans are arrogant, ignorant and unpolite."
John Bergognone, Ireland
5 from 5"fantastico"
Federico stella, Italy
5 from 5"Thanks guys. I can see entire world just sitting at my home. I dont know when I get chance to on world tour but before that I have seen almost all beautiful places of the beautiful world.Its beauty of your camera."
Bhagvan Rabari, India
5 from 5"How do I turn off the sound???? Nothing happens when I click on the sound icon. I now have Schindler's List playing all the time on my computer, even when I close down my emails. Help!"
Joan Donat, USA
5 from 5"I grew up in Italy...4th grade through high school...I am 62 now, living in New Jersey, USA...brings back such fond memories. BELLISSIMA!"
Leo Chow, Italy
5 from 5"wow.fantastic.I enjoyed."
zeynab seyedi, Iran
5 from 5"Exquisite photography as always airpano! But as for the site itself - I was watching it with mixed feelings and I am not sure it is worthy of such admiration. Thinking about the thousands of people (and animals) losing their lives there just to amuse blood-thirsty emperors and crowds...Maybe it is not such a loss for it to disintigrate into oblivion. It is places of peace, spirituality at its best and symbols of human kindness and beauty that I would rather admire."
Yaelah Gal, Israel
5 from 5"Fantбstico!!!"
Paulo Rattes, Brazil
5 from 5"It's a mazing (^_^)"
Yusuf Mohammed, Jordan
4 from 5Mohsen Barati, Iran
5 from 5"Sempre fantastica Italia. Bellisimo e molto interesante. Grazie !"
PASCU IOAN, Romania
4 from 5"thanks"
mohammad jafarizad, Iran
5 from 5Gerard Mous, Netherlands
5 from 5"Gracias por hacerme llegar en 1є clase, a esta parte de la historia..."
jorge humberto gomez ospina, Colombia
5 from 5fallah azez, Iraq
"v good"
balasuramanian balan, India
5 from 5"Perfect. I hope to see close up "
Tibo Tak, Iran
5 from 5"it is very fantastic but it is far ."
delnia khezraqa, Iran
"Me he vuelto a enamorar de Roma..."
Vianney Doniz, Mexico
5 from 5"Once again a superlative presentation of the Colloseum of Rome. It again reminded me of the wonderful trip that my dear mother and I had made to Rome (as well as to Istanbul), 2 years ago. Best wishes to you and your team and thanks once again."
fren bill, India
5 from 5"espectaculares muy muy Bien...."
vicente Peiro, Spain
4 from 5"I HAVE BEEN TO ROME AND WAS AWE STRUCK AT FIRST GLIMPSE............INSIDE IS EVEN MORE BREATH TAKING.....I LOVED READING THE HISTORY AND DETAILS OF IT SIZE, ETC. INTERESTING"
SHELAGH FAA, Canada
"Me encanta me interesan todos los destinos"
Lorena Mazzoni, Argentina
4 from 5"Excelente !!!"
Raъl Jacobo, Mexico
5 from 5Amin Garousi, Iran
5 from 5"After seeing the natural, this is the best way to see it in all its glory, thanks for this new release, you are the best"
Juan Quiles, Spain
5 from 5"Que forma mбs estйtica, maravillosa y бgil para conocer a detalle y en panorбmica los sitios mбs hermosos de la tierra, lo induce a uno a tener el contacto con los materiales, solo falta tocar. Felicitaciones y gracias"
Eugenio duque, Colombia
5 from 5"Lindo, lindo!!"
Paulo Rattes, Brazil
4 from 5"I have visited Rome 5 times and every time I have visited this wonderful place. This place is always crowded by the tourists. It is a nice monument to admire."
Ronald Mascarenhas, India
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