Exploring the Colosseum

Programs for this blog post

Connecting Italian Art, History & Culture

Authored By:

Jennifer Cohn

The things you can't learn from a Russell Crowe movie...

In the airport on our way to Rome, I asked participants what they were most looking forward to seeing on the trip. Hands down the most common answer was the Colosseum (Colosseo in Italiano). On Friday, we finally got to experience the Colosseo and the Foro Romano (Roman Forum). The Forum, right next to the Colosseum, was the epicenter of life during the Roman Empire. Thanks to CIEE’s Art History professor, Simona, we got a personal guided tour of both. We were treated to incredible views of the Forum and a history lesson literally inside the Colosseum. Participants really enjoyed learning about the mythical gladiator battles that the Colosseum is famous for, as well as all the things that popular culture has gotten wrong about gladiators in recent years. Fun fact: gladiators probably didn’t have the washboard abs we always see in movies. In actuality, it was preferred that they were a little bit chubby!

Panorama of the Forum