Rome – The Colosseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium)

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The main viewing surface of the Colosseum would have been a wooden floor with many access points to the sub-floor area (‘hypogeum’) where various animals would have been housed, entertainers would await their cues, and prisoners would have been kept. A series of movable ramps and doorways and passageways under the floor system would allow for the arrival of various actors or animals from different locations in the Colosseum floor. Additional tunnel systems and passageways allowed for the arrival of the animals from stables located outside of the Colosseum itself.

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The Colosseum is a very important tourist attraction in the city of Rome, Italy and I was very happy to have a chance to view it.  While we were there, we learned that other sections of the Colosseum could be also be viewed through separate tours that have become available since 2010.  These separately priced tours included access to the subfloor area and to the highest viewing areas on the Colosseum walls. Although my wife and I would have been interested in taking these more extensive tours, our general tour group ticket didn’t provide for that and we were short of time when we found out about the details of this optional tour, so, that will need to wait for another time.

At this point in the day, we left our tour group, took a few moments to sit in the shade and plan out the rest of the day for a bit of touring on our own. I hadn’t photographed any fire hydrants in a while and there was one conveniently located in the shade of a Cypress tree :-).

The Coliseum is located right next to the Roman Forum and the Palantine Hills, both of which provide plenty of ruins to explore.  In the end, we decided to concentrate on the former residential areas of the Palantine Hills and spent the next couple of hours wandering through the Palantine Hills imagining what it might have been like to live there in Roman times looking down over the Colosseum, the Forum and the streets of ancient Rome.

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For those who follow my travels, yet another style of fire hydrant.   I shared space with this one in the shade of some Cypress trees. in sight of the Roman Colosseum.

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About Ron

Ron has long had an interest in photography and traveling and, in recent years, has had more time to devote to both activities. Long a Pentax user, Ron switched to Nikon gear when he went digital. The advent of the digital SLR camera, and the ease of the internet blogging process, has provided a venue for sharing his photography and travel experience at the local, national and international level. More about Ron
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2 Responses to Rome – The Colosseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium)

  1. Pingback: Blog postings from my Italian trip = an updated list and progress report. | MegaPixel Travel

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