<p>This podcast discusses the Colosseum as a building, including its overall shape, the huge awning that protected the spectators from the hot Roman sun, the foundations needed to support it, and its decorative elements. Our next episode will take up the kind of events that were staged in it.</p>

Generosity and Violence Behind the Building of the Colosseum

Get Ready for Rome helps the thoughtful traveler prepare to visit the Eternal City by introducing the city’s main monuments and the sometimes acrimonious dialogue they imply. Add value to your visit to Rome by getting to know in advance the ideas and history that stand behind St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel and other familiar but put poorly understood sites of one of the world’s greatest cities.