The Colosseum and its Surrounding History

As one of the most visited places in Italy, Rome has a fascinating, expansive history. Monuments constructed throughout its history still stand today, drawing in millions of families, influencers, history buffs and more.

From the birthplace of the city to the Colosseum to the Vatican, pieces of history are scattered across Rome, eager to share the tales of the past. Situated in the heart of the city, and perhaps the most popular landmark of Rome, is the Colosseum. But what most people don’t know is that there are several other significant historical sights steps away from their destination.

The Birthplace of Rome

Remains from Rome's original settlement can still be seen near the Colosseum.

Legend states that Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus. He and his twin brother, Remus, decided to found a town in the spot in which they were rescued as infants. When the two disagreed on which hill to build the town upon, Romulus murdered Remus and named the town Rome after himself.

Rome faced one major problem at its founding: there wasn’t a population. To solve this problem, he granted asylum to exiles and fugitives, but there still wasn’t a female population. A festival was hosted for Rome’s neighbors, the Sabines, but it was all a ploy so Romulus could kidnap the women.

This bloody and violent legend of the founding of Rome foreshadows the future of its history, including the great fire of Rome in the year 64. Rumored to have been started by the Roman emperor Nero, the devastating fire burned for almost three days, destroying 3 districts and thousands of homes.

Priscilla Corti shared funny bits of information throughout her tour.

When sharing this story, Priscilla Corti, a tour guide of the Roman monuments, chuckled a bit. “There’s a legend that Nero was on the hill playing his fiddle watching Rome burn. It’s not true – he wasn’t in town. But if he was, he would’ve probably been enjoying the show!”

Nero used the fire to further his political plans, which included claiming 200 acres of publicly owned land for himself. He also used the destruction as a reason to change the aesthetic of Rome and to persecute Christians by claiming they started the fire. Many believed Nero started the fire because of how he reigned afterward and chose to spread this rumor throughout history.

The Colosseum

A landmark of the new Rome aesthetic, the Colosseum began being built between C.E. 70 and 72 but didn’t open for almost a decade. The enormous structure could hold up to 50,000 occupants, and it w

as filled to maximum capacity often.

The Colosseum is currently undergoing renovations but is still open to the public.

Gladiator battles, reenactments and public executions drew in crowds of people for years. When the Roman citizens’ interests began to lessen, the Colosseum was left behind and started deteriorating. Several earthquakes caused the structure to fall apart, and by the 1900s, only one-third remained.

Restoration projects began in the 1990s to repair the monument, with the most current project planning to rebuild the retractable floor above the now-visible underground tunnels. Still, millions of tourists visit this once-bustling site to gaze upon the place where emperors stood, and gladiators fought.

The Triumphal Arch of Constantine

Built almost 200 years after the Colosseum, but located on the same site, is the Arch of Constantine. This is the most unique and most modern of the triumphal arches constructed in Rome.

The Roman Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus made Rome a safe place for those who practiced the Christian religion, a stark and rejoiced contrast from previous emperors who slaughtered Christians en masse. The tribute was built in 315 after Constantine’s victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

The Arch of Constantine is built from recycled materials – pieces of other buildings. The marble reliefs of the monument show statues that were taken from Trajan’s forum as well as displays of Marcus Aurelius sharing food with the poor and Trajan defeating the Dacians.

Priscilla made sure her group understood how unique the construction of the monument was and how the Romans would edit and reuse materials to fit their purposes.

“They would remove the faces of emperors to put faces of new emperors on with glue and wax, but they fall off over time. You will never see a statue of a new emperor with a face.”

The difference in coloration and the mismatched assortment of stories displayed makes it easy to see how the arch was constructed with pieces of other monuments.

The only original artwork of the Arch of Constantine is the rectangular depictions of war and the carvings on the small arches. Everything else is pieced together with materials from other buildings, something that is seen throughout Rome, including in the Roman Forum.

The Roman Forum

Just a short walk away from the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine sits the Roman Forum. Once a place where citizens could gather and conduct business, the Roman Forum was the center of public life.

Though it was constructed in the 7th century B.C., the Romans continued adding monuments until 608 C.E. These included the Temple of Vespasian and Titus and Antonius Pius and Faustius. In these times, it was believed that if one had a temple, one became a god when they passed away, which is why there were many temples constructed in the Roman Forum.

The Temple of Antonius and Faustina was built so that they would both become gods in the afterlife.

Over time, the once-inhabited area was filled with silt and turned into a meadow. Some of the remaining monuments were turned into churches but were also eventually abandoned. However, after 100 years of excavations, the Roman Forum was finally visible and visitable for tourists.

The Vatican

Although it was originally constructed in the 4th century A.D., the Vatican did not begin being open to the public until the 1700s. The Vatican is not only a church but a collection of art galleries and historical artifacts.

Many visit the Vatican to see Michelangelo’s art in the Sistine Chapel, but what most don’t know is that each gallery on the way to the Sistine Chapel was carefully curated hundreds of years ago.

The Hall of the Muses houses nine sculptures representing the nine personifications of art. When it was originally opened to the public in 1784, there were only a few statues of the muses, accompanied by Apollo, Athena and other prominent Greek figures.

Statues were reconstructed to look like the missing muses.

This did not satisfy the owners of the collection, so in the 18th century, the remaining muses were miraculously found.

“They found two women statues that had nothing to do with the muses, fixed them up, and said, ‘Oh, we found them!’” Marco Colzi, a tour guide at the Vatican, said while walking through the Hall of the Muses.

There is so much interesting and often overlooked history throughout Rome. When in a rush to see the main sights, it’s easy to miss funny stories and uniquely constructed buildings that all played a part in building Rome into what it is today.