Examples of the Italians' architectural, artistic and cultural genius abound in Venice, Florence and Rome, the three cities my wife and I visited on our recent vacation. There are certain things one has to see in Italy to make a trip complete. One such marvel is the Coliseum (bottom), the first-century amphitheater built to hold 50,000 spectators and house some of the roughest sporting contests the world has ever seen.
The way we build stadiums these days, especially in the United States, that an arena could stand for 2,000 years is mind-boggling. If they had cars back then, it doubtless would have been razed for a parking lot. As the history books record, the Coliseum -- and pictures illustrate -- the Coliseum has lost a little off the top. The world can thank the cannibalizing of the Coliseum, not architectural flaws, for its irregular shape. Italy has made many more contributions to the world, all of which deserve to be chronicled. I came away from the trip with a tremendous respect for the living history lesson that is Italy.
More of this genius to come ...
Update: Another building of the same vintage (nearly) was the Pantheon (top), built in the second century, from 126-28 . Whew! So much older. The Romans would have pilfered this marvelous former temple had it not been converted to a Catholic church.
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