​THE COLOSSEUM

70 AD - Emperor Vespasian started working on the Colosseum

 

80 AD - The Colosseum opened

 

82 AD- The building work of the Colosseum is completed

 

107 AD - Emperor Trajan has 10,000 gladiators fight in one set of games

 

110 AD - The Romans killed their first Christian in the Colosseum

 

200 AD - Women gladiators were banned from fighting in the Colosseum

 

217 AD - The Colosseum was struck by lightning and was mostly destroyed

 

222 AD - Emperor Severus repairs the Colosseum

 

230 AD - Emperor Severus added fourth storey to the Colosseum

 

250 AD - The Colosseum was struck by lightning again and is repaired by Emperor Decius

 

262 AD - The Colosseum was hit by an earthquake

 

Late 4th Century - Became very difficult to put on expensive games in the Colosseum

 

404 AD - Christian Emperor Honorius stopped gladiator games

 

410 AD - During the Visigoths war the Colosseum was abandoned and was used as a cemetery

 

429 AD - Another earthquake hits Rome and repairs are made to the Colosseum

 

438 AD - Christian Emperor Valentinian banned gladiator games forever

 

484 AD - Decius Marius Venantius paid to rebuild the Colosseum after an earthquake had destroyed it

 

523 AD - The last animal hunt in the Colosseum was played

 

6th Century to 9th Century - The Colosseum was abandoned again

 

847 AD - The southern wall of the Colosseum collapsed due to an earthquake

 

9th Century to 13th Century - Development of residences begins in the Colosseum

 

15th Century to 18th Century - People start taking cartloads of stone from the Colosseum to build palaces and churches

 

1750 AD - Pope Benedict XIV forbidded people from going into the Colosseum and restoration starts

 

1798 AD - The French occupants had a project that the Colosseum was to become part of a huge archaeological park including the whole centre of Rome

 

1800 AD to 1853 AD - During these years two abutments of brick are made to reinforce the sides of the facade

 

1930 AD - A backdrop is made for parades

 

1940 AD - The metro works cut out the foundations

 

Until Present - The Colosseum has become one of the most visited tourist attractions in Rome and has thousands of people visit everyday