Roman Forum
The Roman Forum , Forum Romanum,
(although the Romans called it more often the Forum Magnum or just
the Forum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed,
in which commerce and the administration of justice took place.
Part of the Roman Forum. The arch was erected by Septimius
Severus. On the right is the Palatine Hill. |
Palatine Hill
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The Roman Forum  |
Roman Forum with Palatine
Hill in the background. The arch at the front left is the Arch of Septimius
Severus, while on the right the three-columned Temple of Vespasian and
Titus stands in front of the Temple of Saturn. |
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Roman Forum: Temple of Vespasian on
the left, Arch of Septimius Severus behind the remains of the Temple
of Saturn in the foreground. On the right are the three columns of the
Temple of Castor and Pollux and the Palatine Hill, and slightly to the
left of these is the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda. In the distance,
the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus are visible. |
Map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, with Forum Holitorium and
Forum Boarium shown at bottom middle |
The remains of the Temple of Vesta. |
Campo Vaccino, by Claude Lorrain. |
Campo Vaccino by Herman van Swanevelt. |
The column erected in honour of the Byzantine emperor Phocas, 608:
the last addition to the Roman Forum.
This page refers to the main forum in the centre of Rome.
See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below) for other forums
in Rome and other Roman provincial cities.
See Forum (Roman) for the type of building.
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Coliseum
The Colosseum's
name has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue
of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors
into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding
the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several
times and substituted with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite
its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval
era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as
an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.
In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede (c. 672–735) wrote a famous
epigram celebrating the symbolic significance of the statue: Quandiu
stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma; quando cadit coliseus, cadet et
Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus
stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall;
when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated
to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance,
Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage).
However, at the time that Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus
was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as
the Flavian amphitheatre.
The Colossus did eventually fall, probably being pulled down to
reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum"
(a neuter noun) had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The
statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives,
situated
between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.
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History
Ancient
A map of central Rome during the
Roman Empire, with the Colosseum at the upper right corner.
Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule
of the Emperor Vespasian in around 70–72. The site chosen was a flat
area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and
Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century
BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great
Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area
to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea
on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded
by pavillions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct
was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus
of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.
The area was transformed under Vespasian and his
successors.
Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn
down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for
the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support
buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the
Domus Aurea. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the
site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to
be erected from his general's share of the booty." This is thought
to refer to the vast quantity of treasure
seized by the Romans following their victory in the Great Jewish Revolt
in 70. The Colosseum can be thus interpreted as a great triumphal
monument built in the Roman tradition of celebrating great victories.
Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's
lake can also be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people
an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In
contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts
of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect,
placing it both literally and symbolically at the heart of Rome.
The Colosseum had been completed up to the third
story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished
and the building inaugurated by his son, Titus, in 80. Dio Cassius
recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural
games of the amphitheatre. The building was remodelle further under
Vespasian's younger son, the newly-designated Emperor Domitian, who
constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to
house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery
to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.
In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major
fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius) which destroyed
the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not
fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250
or 252 and again in 320. An inscription records the restoration of
various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian
III (reigned 425–450), possibly to repair damage caused by a major
earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The arena continued
to be used for contests well into the 6th century, with gladiatorial
fights last mentioned around 435. Animal hunts continued until at
least 523.
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Medieval
Map of medieval Rome depicting the Colosseum.
The Colosseum underwent several
radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th
century a small church had been built into the structure of the amphitheatre,
though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance
on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery.
The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were
converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being
rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani
family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using
it as a castle.
Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the
great earthquake of 1349, causing the outer south side to collapse.
Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals
and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into
the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued
to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior
of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused
elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble facade) was burned to make
quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were
pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which
still scar the building today.
Modern
During the 16th and 17th century,
Church officials sought a productive role for the vast derelict hulk
of the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building
into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes,
though this proposal fell through with his premature death. In 1671
Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry
caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.
In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed as official Church
policy the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians
had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry
and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed
Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the
Christian martyrs who perished there (see Christians and the Colosseum).
Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects,
removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure
and threatened to damage it further. The facade was reinforced with
triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired
in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s.
The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874
and was fully exposed under Mussolini in the 1930s.
The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular
tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The
effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted
a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at
a cost
of 40 billion Italian lira ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices). In recent
years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against
capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948.
Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the
Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death
penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum's
night time illumination from white to gold whenever
a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets
their sentence commuted or is released.
Due to the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical
to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators
can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts
have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a
backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years
have included Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003) and
Elton John (September 2005).
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