The arena of the Colosseum, or better its memory, is one of the things in the world that must be seen, at least one time in our lives. An arena trampled by the gladiators, condemned men, hunters, wild animals, wild or domesticated, carnivorous or herbivorous. An arena crossed by processions with musicians and with the editor, those who paid a lot to ensure a free show to the people of Rome, and not only. Let's discover more about it.

Today the arena, consisting of a wooden structure covered with sand (arena in Latin was expressed by harena, which meant just the sand), doesn't exist anymore. In the course of the intensive excavations of the XIX century, thanks to which, thinking in positive way, today we can peek into the underground of the Flavian Amphitheatre, the arena was completely destroyed. In spite of everything, however, its historical memory remains intact, thanks to the movie and not only. An arena that, furthermore, under it hid the true scenic drive, the one that the romans used to put on a show and impress. According to the archaeologists there were at least 28 pulley systems driven by ropes, from which it opened a sort of trap door. In this way, and thanks to the strength of the excavations, you could bring to the surface the lions, tigers, gazelles, peacocks, men, trees, vegetation...

Imagine the extraordinary surprise that the spectators at the Coliseum had, the wonder of seeing ourselves erupt, out of nowhere, exotic animals, gladiators and natural elements. Especially the venationes were so spectacular that people got excited to see them (if you want to know more about a venatio click here). An arena that had seen, according to the accounts of Dio Cassius, in the course of the 120-day games given by the emperor Trajan to celebrate itself and to celebrate his victory, and that one of Rome, against the population of the Dacians. During the 120 days it seems that Trajan brought in Rome more than 800 gladiators per day and 900 animals, always one day (even if it is to say that games often took place in multiple buildings at the same time, such as the Circus Maximus). Of course, should we trust these numbers, written and described by one historian that, basically, made a panegyric in honour of Trajan, the optimus princeps, returning from his extraordinary and successful campaign in Rome against the Dacians (tribe of modern-day Romania). But imagine, for a moment, what it might mean to come to the Colosseum, in the course of the year, or continuously, for 4 months. An incredible thing, isn't it?

I leave you with the words written by Dio Cassius, so that we can get even more in the atmosphere of those times: "When Trajan returned to Rome, he received many delegations sent by various foreign populations, such as those sent by the Indians. He did organize the shows that were held in the course of a hundred and twenty-three days, during which they killed eleven thousand animals, both wild, both farmed, and fought ten thousand gladiators".