Colosseum

Have you ever been to Italy? What was your first stop? I’d bet it was Rome. Why? It is the seat of the Holy Roman Empire, the center of our history. From Rome, the Romans projected power over a million square miles, from what is now Jordan all the way to Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland. You have to give those old Romans credit, they weren’t just ambitious with one of the greatest armies the world has ever seen, they built some long lasting stuff, too. Their architects were amazing and you can see proof of it all over their empire. They left the imprint of their civilization to this day in places like Jerash, Alres, Umm Qais, Jerusalem, and more. All roads lead to Rome, right? So when you think of going to Italy your list of must see sights must include the Colosseum.

When we left the Scala Sancta we decided to walk the short distance to the Colosseum. We actually stood in front of the Obelisco Lateranense trying to decide if it was worth it to grab a cab.

Along the way we saw some restoration projects that kind of looked permanent.

We had traveled all day, visited the Scala Sancta, climbed the stairs on our knees in the heat, and we were dragging our roller bags with us. We were hungry and thirsty, so we decided to have dinner in the shadows of the Colosseum.

After dinner we walked around the Colosseum.

You can see in some of the photos above that time has been unkind to the old stadium, requiring some construction work to keep it from falling into obscurity.

We walked into the ruins to the west of the Colosseum and were able to see some of what I believe is called the Palatino.

This warning was accurate. We were forced to turn back.

Our last view of the Colosseum that night.

What a great stop. It’s a must see for anybody going to Rome. There are better preserved stadiums around the world, but this one is the most famous.

It deserves to be on every bucket list.

~ Freddy