Topic – Rome: Where in the World? The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

Where in the World? The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

TO: [email protected]

FROM: [email protected]

SUBJECT: Cool Colosseum

The Colosseum, an ancient stadium

Hey Dylan,

After visiting my Aunt Angela and Uncle Giuseppe in Florence, my family took the train to Rome. It is the capital of Italy. Today, we started sightseeing here and visited this ancient stadium called the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is about 2000 years old and it looks like it! The building is made of concrete and stone, and over the years people have stolen the marble seats. Our tour guide told us that the Colosseum has also been hit by a couple of earthquakes, as well as by lightning.

Depiction of gladiators fighting

Long ago, about 50 000 people crowded into the Colosseum for all kinds of shows. Most involved men, called gladiators, fighting each other or fighting wild animals. The Romans loved watching these gory shows and were not really upset when someone was killed. One of the exits from the Colosseum is called the Gate of Death because that is where the dead gladiators were carried out.

The shows they used to put on here must have been incredible. The guide told us that the Ancient Romans sometimes flooded the Colosseum and held mini sea battles with real ships!

We saw where the emperor—the ruler—would have sat, which of course was the best seat in the place. He paid for everything—no one had to pay to watch the shows. Other important government officials sat fairly close to the action, too. A little farther up was where the men and soldiers sat. The slaves and women had to sit at the very top of the Colosseum. My sister did not like hearing that at all!

Picture of cat by the Colosseum.

You know how much I like cats. Believe it or not, there are about 200 cats living in the Colosseum. They are very shy so I could not get too close to any, but I took some great photos. A sign said that in the summer, the cats eat birds, mice, and lizards. But in the winter, they depend on people to feed them. The Colosseum would be a neat place to live!

I will show you my cool Colosseum cat photos when I get home.

Ciao (as they say in Rome!),

Rae

Now, show what you know!

Complete some questions about the reading selection by clicking “Begin Questions” below.