The Colosseum is an amphitheatre
located between the Esquiline and
Palatine hills, near the southeast
end of the Forum. The emperor
Vespasian began construction of
the Colosseum in AD 69; his son
Titus finished the structure in
AD 80.
When it was finished, the oval
amphitheatre was 118 feet wide,
510 feet long, and stood 160 feet
high, with 76 entryways. The
exterior walls were made of
travertine marble, the inner walls
of tufa, and the vaults of the
seating area of monolithic
concrete. Up to 50,000 people
could sit in the marble and wooden
seats surrounding the arena. The
floor of the arena was made of
heavy wooden planks.
Much of the Colosseum is still
standing, despite earthquake
damage and the use of its
masonry as a quarry during the
Middle Ages. Much of the marble
used to build Saint Peter's
Basilica came from the Colosseum.
