N U M E R I
- The Colosseum is roughly elliptical in shape
- Its long axis, oriented WNW-ESE, measures 188 metres and the short one 156.
- Its coordinates are: latitude 41° 53' 33" North, longitude 12° 29' 31" East
- The overall height of the building is 48,5 metres (159’)
- The arena measures 76 m by 44 (249 by 144 feet, or 83 by 48 yard)
- The building stands on a base of 2 steps; there are 3 floors of arcades and a 4th storey with windows (see image on the right).
- There were 80 arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a half column.
- The arches are 4.20 m. (13’9") wide and 7.05 m (23’1") high on the ground floor; on the upper floors they are only 6.45 m (21’2") high
- The seating was raised 3.60 m above the arena, and it has a gradient of 37°
- The ancient capacity is calculated between 50.000 and 75.000 spectators
- 300 tons of metal were used for the iron clamps that connected the limestone blocks together
- The ground floor, in limestone, is 90 cm thick on average
- Over 100.000 cubic metres of travertine stone were used (45.000 for the external wall only)
- A road about 20 km long was built to transport the travertine stones from the quarries near Tivoli
- All around the top there were sockets for 240 wooden beams which supported the awning (velarium)
- In 2019 the Colosseum had 7.554.544 visitors, and a gross income of 57.6 million Euro
 A section of the Colosseum
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 Some phases of the construction |
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 A section of the external drains
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 A section of the cavea |
 An amazing cross section by illustrator Stephen Biesty |
