The Flavian Amphitheater, better known to the world as the Colosseum, is the most universally recognized icon in Rome. You can explore this popular tourist attraction on your own or take a guided tour for more information and the opportunity to ask questions as you go along.

Despite damage by fire, earthquake, and neglect, as well as its conversion into a fortress of the Frangipani family, the pillaging of its stone for construction of palaces,

The largest structure surviving from ancient Rome, the Colosseum was begun by Vespasian in AD 72, and eight years later enlarged by his son, Titus, adding the fourth story. The name of the Colosseum derived from the immense statue of Nero-called the colossus after the Colossus