L I T T E R A E

Every now and then
we receive some feedback messages asking questions. The mail helps us to improve the site.
You also may benefit of some of the answers on this page.

CREDITS
HI!! I need to place this web page into my bibliography. To do so, I need the authors of this wepage, the name of page, the date of posting, the name of institution and any organization affiliated with this site. Thank you. This web page is very helpful. I hope you email me because this info is very important for my project. Ciao......

Dear …
I have to thank you. At first I was a little pissed off with all those requests, but then I thought that it is not the first time people ask for that kind of info, so I got down to it and put all this in a page. You'll find it all under the menu MORE/CREDITS.
Ciao
Andrea

MODELS
I am interested in creating the most accurate 3-D model of the colosseum that I possibly can, but am faulting at the first step. I have not been able to locate any remotely interpretable floor plans that i can use to create this model. I also need a list/drawing showing the structure and function of the mechanisms below the floor of this building. If you can help me in any way, please contact me. Thank you.
Spud

Dear Spud,
I don't think you can find detailed drawings of the floor plans on the net. Get books. Try these. They are in the source page anyway
PARKER (John Henry ), The Flavian amphitheater, Oxford, 1996.
PEARSON (J.), " Arena. The story of the Colosseum ", BSEAA, 48, 1977, pp. 521-522.
PLATNER (Samuel Ball), ASHBY (Thomas), A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, Rome, l'ERMA, 1965, (1ere édition Oxford-Londres, Oxford University Press, 1929), QUENNELL, Peter. The Colosseum; Nesweek, New York, 1971.
RICHARDSON (Lawrence Jr.), A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome, Baltimore, John Hopkins University Press, 1992 (1ere édition Oxford-Londres 1929), pp. 7-10.
As to underground machinery there is no certainty about mechanisms, but this I can tell: surely there were central ramps in the arena, 2 at least.
Probably there were elevators in the niches around the arena, operated with ropes and counterweights, to lift animals and people on the battlefield. Their exact number and functioning imo hasn't been explained credibly enough.
Surely coreography machines and materials were kept in the underground and pushed/pulled along the ramps at the right moment. Read Martial De Spectaculis to get an idea of the shows (it's only a few pages anyway)
Let me know about your progress
Andrea

I would like to know where you obtained the very accurate 3D model of the Colosseum? And if it is possible to get a copy of the file in 3D format?
Chris

Dear Chris;
you ask about the 3d model. If I understand well, you are referring to the picture of a model made in the 19th century, which is in France, I think. There is a similar model of the Colosseum in the amphitheatre itself. I don't know if one can get a 3d picture. I say: get the real picture, come to Rome and see it.
Ciao,
Andrea

I have a question for you. I am very interested in the exact architecture of the coliseum. I have been there and loved every second basking in its glory. I am a 3D Modeler and I am wanting to recreate to exact detail the coliseum. Do you know of any resources that show the blueprints for the coliseum. Or do you yourself have any blueprints for it? Thanks.
Brett

Dear Brett,
we have no blueprints of the Colosseum, but I have found a site that may
help you: http://www.greatbuildings.com/models/Roman_Colosseum_mod.html .
Yours sincerely,
Daniele Pepe

I LIKE IT WHEN PEOPLE SAY THANKS!!!
Thank you so much. That does help. I hope you and your family have a happy holiday season.
Brett

MORE MODELS
Hello, I am doing a research project on the Colosseum. I've found your site very helpful and i was wondering if there was any other information that you think could help in my paper. The topic is very vage, but i wanted to really concentrate on the architecture. If you have any pictures or descriptions of the interior, especially the very center, that would also help. I was also wondering if you had any ideas on how i could make a model of the colosseum. Something not too large because i'll have to find a way to get it to school. But i really want it to be realistic and show as much detail as possible. And i'm willing to spend a lot of time on it. The project is due on December 18 so i have a few weeks to work on it. Thanks you so much, Samantha

Dear Samantha,
the Colosseum is very big, and even a model is a great challenge; I think you have seen the page on models under the architecture menu.
I thought about your problem, and what I suggest is that you use polistyrene foam, which is cheap and can be easily cut in shape by means of a hot wire (they sell such instruments in hobby shops) and that you build only a section of the Colosseum, even less that a quarter of the structure, and that you slice it and show how it was built.
You can find some plans in the page www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/numeri_en.htm . Look at the image sect.jpg ; you may just paint the inside instead of making real holes for the arches. Try to show a plan of the underground chambers where the shows were prepared.
Good Luck
Let me know how it's gone
Ciao
Andrea

MODELS AGAIN
Your website is great. I was wondering if you had more of the information I needed. I am making a scale model of the colosseum as a math project. There are not enough measurements for me to do so. If you could supply me with the information, it would be much appreicated.
Thank You,
Cheng

Dear Cheng,
I'll give you all the measurements I have (in metres).
Ellipses:

• external 188 x 56
• internal 87,3 x 54,3
• ellipse of the arena: 75 x 44
• Circumference: 527
• Max height (external wall) 48,5
• The arches are 4.20 m. (13’9") wide and 7.05 m (23’1") high on the ground floor, while on the upper floors they are only 6.45 m (21’2")

Ciao
Andrea

UNDERGROUND TOUR
Would it be possible if one of your staff or someone else give me a tour of underground at Colosseum? It is for my history project at University of Hawaii at West Hawaii campus. I am a student...Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Aloha,
David
Kona, Hawaii

Dear David,
it is now possible to visit the underground of the Colosseum.
It is open to the public for a guided tour, except for days in winter when too much rain is expected (it may flood)
Ciao,
Daniele and Andrea


WHO OWNS THE COLOSSEUM?
I am doing a college research paper on the Colosseum. My question is "Who owns the colosseum? Is it the Italian Government?". I need information about this wonderful building today. I was lucky enough to visit Rome in April, but did not know I would be doing this research. There are not many books available on the subject.
Thank you,
Pat

Dear Pat,
the Colosseum is part of the State assets.
Hope you enjoyed your stay here in Rome,
Yours sincerely,
Daniele Pepe

HOLA!
Hola amigos!,
Soy de Honduras y estudio arquitectura y les agradeceria mucho si me pudieran ayudar a conseguir unas imagenes del Coliseum Romano donde pueda ver unos contrafuertes que le colocaron en las paredes internas y externas para afianzar su estructura, o si pueden darme referencia de una direccion en internet.
gracias. Esta excelete su pagina de la web.
Lourdes

Hola Lourdes!
Para los externas contrafuertes see the images in the home page and in the page history/rediscovery. Look also under other/imagegallery. I don't know of any suitable site on the net.
Auguri per i tuoi studi,
Ciao
Andrea

CREDENTIALS
Would you please send me a list of your credentials. I need to use your website for a school project and my teacher wants me to have proof that the seite that i am using is trustworthy and reliable.

Dear ...,
My "academic" credential is a degree in political sciences at Rome University. I love my city and the arts, and I did the site as a hobby. My references for the site are other books, like for anyone doing a study of this kind. In the field of history or archaeology, where all is left to interpretation of hints, generally the credibility of a theory cannot be proven by scientific evidence. While reading about the subject I have understood that much of what has been written on the Colosseum is based on some interpretation of the hints we have.
I understand your teacher: the problem of the sources and their reliability/credibility is an old one. If you go deep in any subject, you soon realize that the problem of the "original" sources is the most disturbing one. If we take the Colosseum as an example, the original literary sources are few (they appear in the source page in latin), and they have generally been taken as gospel.
Example: the fact that Martial says that naval battles were held in the arena has compelled many archeologists to read literally his words and explain that some structures of the Colosseum are a proof of that, but some other studies say that naval battles couldn't be held at all in the arena, because of the architectural structure of the monument. Were naval battles held in the Colossem or not? Who knows. There is now a new explanation of it: Martial did not really mean the Colosseum when he wrote about naval battles, but he meant another place or another kind of show, different from what is generally intended as naumachia. Can now Martial, the original source, be taken as gospel?
This should teach us that the truthfulness and reliability of books and papers (and all information) on the Colosseum (and I imagine on every subject) is as good as we can control it.
In other words: Mr. X makes a statement. If he indicates his sources I can go and check. He may have misread or be interested, for some reason, to prove some theory. If his theory is supported by a citation of some other author, should we take it for granted or go and check that author as well? I tried to go as back as to the Latin sources. They are very few. You also can start from those, and form your opinion.
By the point of view of academic credibility, my site does little more than try to report in a concise way the views of some of the available literature on the subject. I hope your professor will be satisfied.
Good chicken hunting,
Andrea Pepe

WOW, IT WAS HELPFUL!!!
thanks, this will help me more than i thougt it could

SHALL PROFESSORS APPROVE?
I would like to have some information about who the creators of this website are and what back ground you have for the creation of this site.
One of my students is using your website as a resource for her paper and I would just like to make this preliminary check before I approve this site as a valid resource.
Thank you,
Dott.ssa Lisa Cesarani
NYU in Florence

Dear Dr.ssa Cesarani,
you'll find some information on the credentials in the "disclaimer" page of the menu. Click on the link "disclaimer" in the main page in English (the first page that appears with the menu).
Best Regards,
Andrea Pepe

SAMPLES
Dear Sir/Madam
Hello, I am S. from Korea. Your homepage looks fabulous and makes me interested in some pictures in the homepage. Fistly, I saw one particular page which was about the structure of Colossevm. Moreover, there was some pictures of Samples of Colossevm which I was deeply impressed.
So, may I ask whether you have some more pictures of Samples and I wonder I can have some unshown pictures, please.
Anyway, I deeply appreciate for reading my mail and I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours Faithfully
S.

Dear S.,
thanks for the compliments. The picture in the homepage is mine, like many in the site. In the Italian homepage there is the same picture but treated in a pictorial way.
A lot of pictures have been reproduced from other sources. There is an image gallery where you can see most of the images. Click on the menu "other" and then "image gallery". I do not understand exactly what you mean for Samples of the Colosseum.
Models, maybe ?
Ciao,
A. Pepe

SOMETIMES PEOPLE HAVE NO MANNERS ... BUT I’M PATIENT
name: XXX
Hi! I was wondering f I could ask you some questions if so my questions are: How is the Roman Colosseum maintained and repaired? If people still do events there? Who was the architect? If your wondering why I'm asking you all these questions I'm doing a school report on the Roman Colosseum. Answer back soon!

Hi XXX,
the word "please" would have been welcomed, anyway...

- it is the State that pays for the maintenance of the Colosseum
- yes they have started recently to have shows in there
- the name of the architect is unknown.
You could have found the answer to all of these questions in my site. Check
the FAQ page.
Ciao
Andrea


WHO MADE IT?
How many people built the Colosseum and who were they.

We don't know exactly how many people built the Colosseum. Some estimates have been done of several thousands of workers, also considering that it took only 10 years to build it. Some shortcuts have been taken: the stone pieces of the arches are modular. i.e. have the same size, so that they could be mounted in any arch.
We don't know much either about who the workers were. Legend is that Titus used jewish slaves, prisoners from his wars in Palestine, but we must consider it a rumour, because the ancient sources do not report at all such a thing. The majority of the scholars believes that, given the quality of the construction, mainly made in blocks of limestone and tuff, cement vaults and bricks, most of the work force must have been quite skilled. Therefore if slaves were employed they probably were not a majority. Ciao
Andrea

SOMETIMES THERE ARE FUNNY STORIES...
I was just reading a news article about the gladiators wanting to get their jobs back at the colosseum and I would like to share with you what one of them did to me last summer. I have battled a weight problem for most of my life. In June, my wife and I were on a Globus tour and were visiting the colosseum when one of the gladiators stuck a plastic sword to my stomach and yelled out, "TOO MUCH SPAGHETTI!" Everyone started laughing and I've never been so embarrised in my life. My wife and I paid over $7000 for that trip and that one incident ruined the whole trip for both of us. It is something that should never have happened. If that is the way these gladiators treat people, then I don't think they should have their jobs back. I know that I would have had a much better trip if I'd never seen them.

SITE MAP
I love your website, it helped me on my research paper. I just wanted to suggest adding a Site Map. Because you have so many links, and at times it gets confusing . A site map that has links organized into sections, to help navagite through the website better. It was just a suggestion :)

Dear ...,
there is already a site map (I know it's quite a vast site and it gets confusing). You can find it under the menu Around > Site Map.
But if you didn't find it many others haven't so I'll try to make it more simple to find.
Thank you for your comment,
Daniele Pepe

NAVAL BATTLES
My friend tried to tell me that the roman coliseum was filled with water so ship battles would occure. Is this true and if so give referances. thank you

Dear Tyrone,
the story of naval battles held in the Colosseum is matter of fierce debate. Martial, latin writer, mentions some show like that maybe took place in the Colosseum, but the archaeologists are very doubtful about it, given the structure of the arena, drains etc.
The text below can be found at the page "disclaimer"; see also the page on naumachiae under "games".
Ciao
Andrea
... For example, the fact that Martial (De spectaculis) says that naval battles were held in the arena has led many authors to find an explanation as to how the arena could be filled with water and then emptied. Some other studies now say that naval battles couldn't possibly have been held at all in the arena, because of the architecture of the building. Were naval battles held in the Colosseum or not? We are not sure anymore.
And then we meet a new explanation of it: Martial did not really mean the Colosseum when he wrote about naval battles, but he meant another place or another kind of show, different from what is generally intended as naumachia. Can at this point Martial, the original source, still be credible? Can we find another meaning in his writings? And again, can we trust the edition of Martial's works? Which edition? Is the translation adequate? Is it the only version and/or interpretation of the original parchment codex? Because there might be another codex that reports a slightly different text ... And so on... What do we do then? With limited time and cultural resources, we generally stop in front of printed paper that looks credible enough. The credibility threshold rises with the degree of knowledge.

MORE NAVAL BATTLES
Very interesting site. I'm curious about how they got full scale fighting ships into the arena, and how they flooded it for the mock battles that are supposed to have been held

Dear Robert,
the matter is subject of fierce debate. The fact that Martial (De spectaculis) says that naval battles were held in the arena has led many authors to wonder how the arena could be filled with water and then emptied. Some explained that when it was first inaugurated the Colosseum wasn't fitted with the underground passages, which were made later, by Domitian. Some recent studies now affirm that naval battles couldn't possibly have been held at all in the arena, because of the architecture of the building, draining system and all. Were naval battles held in the Colosseum or not? We are not sure anymore.
And then we meet a new elegant explanation of it: Martial did not really mean the Colosseum when he wrote about naval battles, but he meant another place or another kind of show, different from what is generally intended as naumachia. ... And so on...
Books have been written on this, but IMO nobody knows for sure yet.
Ciao
Andrea

SECURITY AND SHOWTIMES
How was security handled at the colosseum during the empire?
What time would the games start and end?

Security in the Colosseum was held by the army, probably praetorians as the other armies weren't allowed to enter Rome, and by vigiles, a kind of police.
The games started in the early morning, around 8 a.m. and continued non-stop until dusk.
Daniele Pepe

THE NAMES OF THE GATES
What were the names of the main axial entrances? North - ? South - ? East - Gate of Death? (exit only?) West - Gladiator Entrance? Thank you.
Kendall

Dear Kendall,

my knowledge is that every amphitheatre identified these gates:

• libitinensis (named after the Roman goddess of the underworld, Libitina) for the dead gladiators;

• sanavivaria for the ones who saved their lives,

• triumphalis, for the winners.

The main axis of the Colosseum is oriented more or less SE-NW; the libitinensis gate is identified with the NW one on the main axis, which is also natural since that is the direction of the ludi. The sanavivaria should be on the opposite side. I don't know which is the triumphalis one. If I have read it I don't remember it.

VESTALS
What role did the vestal virgins play in the ceremonies and where would they sit? Thanks.
Vestals (from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/colosseum/qanda/#23):

There were 18 Vestals at a time: 6 novices chosen as young girls of 10-11 years from the best senatorial families, families without stain in their backgrounds. 6 were the practicing Vestals, and 6 were "retired" and acted as teachers for the novices. Probably the Vestals themselves would have suggested names of novices, but the Pontifex Maximus would have had to make the final decision. The work of the Vestals was to tend the sacred fire of the hearth, symbolic of the home. They also had to prepare sacred ground grain for sacrificial rituals and to function as models of moral behavior, since they had to remain virgins for their 30 years of service. After that time they could marry, but few did. For breaking their vow of devotion to the order, they could be buried alive. They lived in palatial quarters in the Forum behind the round Temple to Vesta where the sacred fire was kept. They had their own box at the Colosseum, and witnessed from their ring-side seats the games, along with the rest of the audience.

I add: originally women were not admitted to the games; later on this prohibition fell into disuse and the amphitheatres provided opportunities for meeting the other sex. After this period of permissivess, reaction came: August assigned special seats to all the classes, guilds and authorities, and relegated the women to the higher tiers. The Vestals were an exception: they were the only women who had a box in the amphitheatre. I don't think they had any role on the occasion, except that of showing themselves in public, like VIP today do at the stadiums.

MODELS
Hello, I am doing a research project on the Colosseum. I've found your site very helpful and i was wondering if there was any other information that you think could help in my paper. The topic is very vage, but i wanted to really concentrate on the architecture. If you have any pictures or descriptions of the interior, especially the very center, that would also help. I was also wondering if you had any ideas on how i could make a model of the colosseum. Something not too large because i'll have to find a way to get it to school. But i really want it to be realistic and show as much detail as possible. And i'm willing to spend a lot of time on it. The project is due on December 18 so i have a few weeks to work on it. Thanks you so much, Samantha

Dear Samantha,
the Colosseum is very big, and even a model is a great challenge; I think you have seen the page on models under the architecture menu.
I thought about your problem, and what I suggest is that you use polistyrene foam, which is cheap and can be easily cut in shape by means of a hot wire (they sell such instruments in hobby shops) and that you build only a section of the Colosseum, even less that a quarter of the structure, and that you slice it and show how it was built. You can find some plans in the page www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/numeri_en.htm . Look at the image sect.jpg ; you may just paint the inside instead of making real holes for the arches. Try to show a plan of the underground chambers where the shows were prepared.
Good Luck
Let me know how it's gone
Ciao
Andrea

SPELLING
Hi i am doing a porject on the colosseum and i was wonder how to site your website because i can not find the correct information so please e-mail me back as soon as possible thank you.
Megan

Dear Megan,
you'll find some info on this page: http://www.the-colosseum.net/around/disclaimer-en.htm
Good Luck for your porject, and remember to check the spelling ...
Ciao,
Andrea

GUIDED TOURS
COMMENTS : Is there an official Colosseum web site where I can reserve tickets for a guided tour? I am bringing a group of 53 pilgrims with me, and I want to make sure we have tickets before we leave on 5 February. Thank you for whatever help you can provide. Happy New Year, Brian

Dear Brian,
the "official" site for Colosseum tickets is this.
I don't think it is necessary to have the tickets before you leave. You can book anyway for the whole group by calling the Colosseum at the tel no. + 06 399 677 00 Mon-sat from 9 to 5 (though they are closed for lunch from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm).
Check the time gap before calling.
Happy New Year and Good Luck
Andrea

WHAT SPECTATORS ATE, TOILETS AND SEATS
Hi i'm doing a project at school at the moment and i've been searching for the answers to a few questions but so far i've been unsuccessful. My questions are:

1.What did the spectators eat and drink at the games?

fruit and nuts, and some people probably ate also the animals who were slaughtered (remains have been found in the sewers)

2. Where did they go to the bathroom?

It is not clear where, but archaeologists guess admit that there must have been toilets. Some remains have been attributed to fountains

3. If i was a provincial Roman citizen staying with a senator and his family in Rome, where would i sit in the Colosseum?

In the seats reserved to the senator's family and clientes(see the page "public" under "games")

4. Are there any gladiator fights which have been fully or partially recorded?

Yes by Martial and many others (see the source page)

STATUES IN THE ARCHES
I was wondering if you could help with a research problem I've been having. See, I'm doing an project for my World Art in Context class(art history) and haven't had much luck. I've been trying to find information on the statues that used to stand in arches of the second and third floor but can't find any mention of them in any of the websites I've looked at. Do you have any tips or hints on where I could find some information. Thanks so much for your help.

There is in fact no physical evidence of statues being placed in the arches, though they appear in the coins and in some models. Look in the books of the bibliography.

COMPLIMENTS – GLADIATOR THE MOVIE
Hello and Thank you for this marvelous website! Currently, I am finishing up a report on the architectural similarities and differences in the movie Gladiator (2000) to historical documents. They used CGI - Computer Generated Imagery - to recreate the Colosseum to great detail. I have not found too many inaccurate details in the movie. I would appreciate your opinion on the topic and any factual mistakes they made. Thank you!

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
Hello, I am David from Spain. I am Working at tv program that is a quiz show. It is called "Who wants to be a millionare?. I would like to write one question about colosseum...I know that colosseum was lit with a bright golden light for 48 hours every time a death penalty was suspended or commuted or a country abolished capital punishment during 2000, but it was just lit that year or it keeps on currently?

Hello David
Yes, it is true. Find more info (in Italian) about it in http://www.nessunotocchicaino.it/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=8000437&idcontinente=16

MORE NAVAL BATTLES
Very interesting site. I'm curious about how they got full scale fighting ships into the arena, and how they flooded it for the mock battles that are supposed to have been held
Dear Robert,
the matter is subject of fierce debate. The fact that Martial (De spectaculis) says that naval battles were held in the arena has led many authors to wonder how the arena could be filled with water and then emptied. Some explained that when it was first inaugurated the Colosseum wasn't fitted with the underground passages, which were made later, by Domitian. Some recent studies now affirm that naval battles couldn't possibly have been held at all in the arena, because of the architecture of the building, draining system and all. Were naval battles held in the Colosseum or not? We are not sure anymore.
And then we meet a new elegant explanation of it: Martial did not really mean the Colosseum when he wrote about naval battles, but he meant another place or another kind of show, different from what is generally intended as naumachia. ... And so on...
Books have been written on this, but IMO nobody knows for sure yet.
Ciao
Andrea

LAZY SOD
This thing on games does not give me enough info on what games took place. I nned more info so work on it.
Shelby Walker
If you want info, work on it Shelby lazy bum
Andrea

SMALL PRINT
Are people really supposed to be able to read the information on this site? The print is so small I don't see how anyone could read it.
Taryn Westover
Dear Taryn,
595,295 people (today's count) visited my site and you are the first to complain. I have had the same problem once, then I bought a pair of glasses
Ciao
Andrea

I wear glasses - thank you, and no one in my office could read it either and we all wear glasses.
I hope you didn' take any offence Taryn I wear glasses too. Try to change the dimension of the fonts by using the options on the browser's menu. You and your office colleagues will enjoy my site at last
Ciao
Andrea

FOOD & SNACKS
How did the Romans provide food and water for the spectators at the Colosseum and were there bathroom facilities at the Colosseum? Thanks
The spectators ate fruit and nuts at the games, and some people probably also ate the animals who were slaughtered (remains have been found in the sewers). As to water, It is not clear how and where, but many archaeologists guess that there must have been toilets and fountains, since traces of piping, placed on the pillars at regular intervals, have been attributed to the presence of drinking fountains and probably also toilets with running water.

MONEY
How was the Colosseum paid for and by whom? I imagine that something of such great magnitude would take more than government money.
Dear Reynaldo,
things were different then. The State as we know it today did not really exist. There were steady institutions, but government and the rulers (the emperors) were basically the same thing. The Colosseum was paid for by the Flavian emperors (a family) that had taken over the power. Some formal rules had to be respected (homage to the gods and the Senate) but since Caesar times the emperors had convinced the Romans to accept the foreign (eastern mediterranean) concept that the king was a god. In the case of the Colosseum the money probably came from the booty of the wars in Palestine waged by the Flavian emperors.
Actually, if we think of the wars waged today by the Bush presidents to protect their oil-based interests, things are not all that different... Only, I think that the Bushes did not build an equivalent monument…

SPELLING - V or U?
if you didn't notice, the title bar Says "colossevm" is it soposted to be spelled with a "v" ? I dont think so.
Dear Bob,
the Romans used to write the "U" like a "V" (see the writing of "Claudio" in the image below) , so I thought it could have been ironic to write the titles of all the pages like that. By the way, your spelling of "soposted" is rather shaky...