HISTORICAL MOMUMENT
Did you know that Colosseum, perhaps world’s most famous architectural landmark ever, was, for years, a pasture for sheep? There were also times when citizens were slowly demolishing the Roman Giant using it as a source of construction materials to build their own tiny houses.
The glorious Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheatre) built between 72-80 AD for centuries was at the center of the social life of the Roman Empire. However, after years of spectacles, gladiatorial contests, animal hunts and dramas, it lost its original function and basically was left unclaimed. It was approximately after the VI century (after the collapse of the Empire) when the biggest Amphitheatre ever built by the mankind became a mere ruin in the center of Rome.
And yet, nevertheless the through the years when the Colosseum was continuously damaged by nature (and earthquakes) and people (tearing it apart stealing rocks and occupying its walls turning them into spontaneous houses), it made it to the present. Amazingly, with its 6 million visitors per year, it is the capital’s second most visited monument (after Pantheon). In 2007 the Colosseum was listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World chosen above such notable sites as Acropolis of Athens, Paris Eiffel Tower and Turkish Hagia Sophia. Truly an epic wonder in the eternal city.
