Colosseum,
Rome, Italy
 Anthem |
Colosseum
A large amphitheater for public sports events, entertainment, or assemblies.
Amphitheater
A spacious open-air building generally oval in form.
Amphitheaters were originally constructed of wood,
and later of stone, and were used by the
Romans for gladiatorial combats,
fights of wild beasts, and other spectacles.
Seats surrounded the exhibition area.
The first amphitheater was constructed in 59 BC by
Roman pontiff maximus Gaius Scribonius Curio.
One of the most famous amphitheaters, the Colosseum,
was built by Roman emperor Vespasian in the 1st century AD.
The Colosseum,
dedicated at Rome by the emperor Titus,
is a great Flavian amphitheater with solid masonry
walls rising 160 feet above the ground and with
50,000 marble seats around the 617-foot by 513-foot oval arena
built above its basements and subbasements.
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Rome
The capital and largest city of Italy,
in the west-central part of the country on the Tiber River.
It was ruled first by Etruscans, who were overthrown c. 500 B.C.
The Roman Republic gradually extended its territory and expanded its influence,
giving way to the Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14).
As capital of the empire,
Rome was considered the center of the known world,
but the city declined when Constantine transferred his capital to Byzantium (323).
In the Middle Ages the city revived as the spiritual
and temporal power of the papacy increased.
It became the capital of Italy in 1871.
Vatican City remains an independent enclave within the confines of Rome.
Population, 2,830,500+. |
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Italy
A country of southern Europe comprising the peninsula
of Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, and several smaller islands.
The country was finally unified under Victor Emmanuel II in 1870.
Rome is the capital and the largest city.
Population, 56,243,900+.
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Updated 04-19-04 |  | © Bill_MT 1999 |
