Begun under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and completed under his son Titus in AD 80, the Colosseum is the largest amphitheater ever built. It held an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators for gladiator fights, animal hunts, executions and other public spectacles.
Unlike Roman theaters set into hillsides, it stands entirely on its own, like two theaters placed back to back. The great oval measures 615 by 510 feet, and its outer wall rises 157 feet, built of travertine, volcanic tuff and Roman concrete. A canvas awning, worked by sailors from the Roman navy, shaded the crowds, and eighty entrances let them fill and empty the arena quickly, much as modern stadiums do. Beneath the arena floor, a network of tunnels held animals and slaves.
Later damaged by earthquakes and stone robbers, it remains the great symbol of Imperial Rome and one of the city's most visited sites.
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