It is the largest amphitheatre ever built in the world and it was the scene of bloody battles, the Colosseum in Rome. And that, that is its story.
After the fall of the Roman emperor Nero, his successor Vespasian had a stone amphitheatre built on the site of the former residence of Nero.
After 8 years of construction, the Colosseum was opened in the year 80 A.D. with one hundred days of games with gladiator fights, simulated naval battles and animal fights.
The four-storey building consists of three arcades arranged on top of each other, each consisting of 80 arches. The semi-columns dividing the arches are Doric on the ground floor, Ionic on the upper floor and Corinthian on the third floor. The fourth level is a closed circular building with rectangular windows that are broken at regular intervals.
The outer façade of the elliptical building was made of Roman travertine, while the inner walls were made of bricks and tuff. The enormous dimensions of 54 metres wide, 86 metres long and 48 metres high for that time make the building the largest closed structure of Roman antiquity.
The 80 entrances were not only an efficient solution for the masses of visitors, so it could be completely filled within 15 minutes, also in the aspect of security the many entrances were very progressive, because so the 50000 spectators could be evacuated within only 5 minutes. The system of the many ways was so formative that until today in the station building the Roman model is orientated.
In comparison to today's stadiums, however, the choice of seats was strictly ordered according to stands. Below, the emperor, the senators and the Roman knights sat with the best view. The bourgeoisie was seated on the third floor above it, where the common people came and, last but not least, the lower class, where men and women were divided, so the women of the lower class had the worst view.

Another special architectural feature was the 240 vertical masts that rose from the top floor of the arena into the sky above Rome. A naval unit of the army stationed in Rome for this purpose was able to tension a sail, a so-called velarium, to provide shade for the spectators.
However, the heart of the arena was invisible to the visitors underground. Under the wooden floor covered with Mediterranean sand there were countless lifts and flaps. This system allowed new people to be brought into the arena with animals and scenery in a very short time. The only disadvantage of the basement was that it made it impossible to flood the Colosseum and so the sea battles did not take place since then.

After the sea battles came to an end with the installation of the cellar system, the gladiator fights were continued until late antiquity - the last one can be dated to the year 435 AD.
Only the animal rushes remained permitted, which were continued by the Ostrogoths even after the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire until 523.
The approximately 443 year old battle history of the Colosseum ends thus only due to a rapid population decrease of Rome.

In the course of time, when the Colosseum was no longer used, it became more and more a quarry. So even today some buildings of Rome consist at least in parts of stones of the ancient venue. Also why the Colosseum was erected in its origin was gradually more and more forgotten. Thus one believed in the Middle Ages it was a former roofed temple for the sun god.
Only in the nineteenth century the true history of the building was rediscovered. The building was protected from further decay and archaeological excavations were started.

Today the Colosseum, with around 6.6 million visitors annually, is not only Rome's most visited landmark, but also serves as a memorial against the death penalty. Thus, every time a country abolishes the death penalty, the Colosseum is illuminated in the national colours for 48 hours and is therefore still of great importance for Italy and the world today.