I Triangoli Hotel, Residence & Villas Surroundings

The origins of the Colosseum date back to the Roman emperor Vespasian, who ruled Rome from ad 69 to 79, when he began construction of the city's Colosseum on the site of the stagnum or artificial lake of Nero's Domus Aurea, almost as if he wished to restore to the Roman people what Nero had stolen from them when he expanded his enormous dwelling.

Construction continued by his son, the Roman emperor Titus, who dedicated it in A.D. 80 and was completed by Vespasian's younger son, Domitian, who succeeded Titus as emperor in 81. It is not absolutely certain that Christians suffered martyrdom in this amphitheatre for we know that the chapels which at one time stood in the unexcavated arena were stations of the Via Crucis and were not built until the eighteenth century. Each of the three arcaded stories originally had 80 arches. A broad pavement of travertine, a whitish calcium carbonate frequently used as building stone, bordered by travertine posts, once surrounded the entire Colosseum, which was entered through the arches of the lowest arcade.

Measuring 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a height of 47 meters, this three story arcade is surmounted with a fourth story pierced with window like openings.

The outer wall and the skeleton of the interior up to the second story were constructed of large blocks of travertine bonded with metal. Elsewhere, softer stones, concrete, and bricks were used. The openings of the surviving arches of the Colosseum are framed with impressive but nonfunctional engaged columns and entablatures of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. The fourth story is decorated with Corinthian pilasters and entablatures. In ancient times, statues filled the spaces of the arches, and metal shields were attached to the spaces between the large windows of the fourth story. Above these windows ran a continuous row of consoles in which sockets were cut for the masts that projected upward through corresponding holes in the cornices. These masts supported awnings used to protect the spectators from the sun. The seating capacity of the Colosseum is believed by modern scholars to have been about 50,000. Modifications and restorations necessitated by fires and earthquakes were made to the Colosseum until the early 6th century.

In succeeding centuries the Colosseum suffered from neglect, earthquakes, and damage done by builders. Still, slightly more than one-third of the outer arcades, comprising a number of the arches on the north side, remain standing. The inner skeleton, which supported the seating space, is also substantially intact. All marble, stucco, and metal decorations, however, are gone but its true history still remains as does its reputation for being the most famous ancient monument in Rome.

Ostia Antica
Ostia is a seaside resort found about 20 miles from Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River and Tyrrhenian Sea.

Now a populated residential area with residents numbering to about 250,00, many of them commuters to the capital city.
Believed to have been found sometime between the 4th and 7th centuries B.C. as a military defence colony to guard against seaborne invasions, through the centuries it gained importance as a domestic cargo landing for imports arriving via the Tiber.
As a consequence to this commercial seaport activity, the city grew as did its population, housing, and other commercial activities as well.
During the 2nd century A.D., the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire, Ostia too began to slowly decay and in the 9th century due to repeated invasions and sackings by Arab pirates, the inhabitants fled to Gregoriopolis, and Ostia was finally abandoned.
Its ruins became a point of study and interest for Baroque architects who used the remains of many of the structures to gather marble for the new buildings they were putting up in Rome and it slowly began to gain fame again, this time as a place for explorers in search of ancient statues and objects.
At the turn of the 19th century, the Papacy began organising excavations which continue to go on today. It is estimated that a good two thirds of ancient Ostia has been recovered.
After World War I, a road, dedicated to the name of Christopher Columbus, was built in Ostia connecting it to the shore which was named Ostia Lido (shore). The new Ostia Lido gained fame as a Roman seaside resort town and was further connected by a railway at the same time that the first projects for Rome's Fiumicino Airport were underway.
Since this was the period of Fascism, the architecture also took on a "fascist" look, so to speak, dividing Ostia into two parts, the coastal side used primarily to build vacation houses for the Romans, and the rear side to house labourers. It was later in the 1960's that Ostia Lido began to gain popularity as a beach and holiday spot for other than the Romans. It offers numerous beach establishments where one can purchase an entrance ticket at about € 8,00 which includes a beach lounge chair, use of showers and other services.
The choice of recreational and sport activities includes surfing lessons by expert surfers, for children ages 6 to 14, at the 'Corallo'.
At the 'Nuova Pineta', find courts for beach volley ball, basketball, tennis, soccer and golf. Water sports are also available which include canoeing, water gym and immersions.
If you're interested more in spending a day exploring history, there is much to see and explore in Antique Ostia.
The excavation of Ostia's amphitheatre was completed near the turn of the 20th century and well restored to see a remarkably preserved series of semicircular bleachers in stone estimated to hold over 3,000 spectators. Fragments demonstrate that the original theatre was built by Agrippa at the end of the first century B.C. along with the large square found behind it, called the Forum of Corporations, so called for its grand rectangular portico which housed the offices of many maritime shipping companies.
Remains of an inscription, dating back to 196 A.D. with bronze letters on a marble slab, show that Septimus Severus and Caracalla completed the work begun by Commodus, to enlarge the theatre.
A few centuries later a statue of Rome was erected outside the theatre.
It was also discovered that the orchestra pit was planned in a way to be able to put on aquatic displays as well.
Also nearby, the Collegiate Temple, a type of men's club used for elaborate feasting.
The antique public baths are also an interesting piece of history where the wealthier Ostians spent time mingling and being pampered. The mechanism of the baths can be discovered under the winding underground passage, where servants lit boilers and emptied tubs without disturbing the clients. The steam for the baths, either hot or cold, was provided by lead pipes which are still visible in the walls. Piping air up from the underground broilers was the common way to heat the majority of buildings in Ostia.
Next to the baths, find the public laundry and dye with terra cotta tubs encased inside countertops of brick. Also interesting are the ancient four storey apartment buildings with their inner courtyards and shared facilities like the public latrines.
All these ruins, and many others, can be seen seven days a week, from 9am in the summer and 9:30 in the winter for an entrance fee of about € 5,00.
To get there by car, take the Via del Mare and follow the plentiful yellow road signs marked "Scavi di Ostia Antica." By subway, take the Metro B from Termini Station, in the direction of L'Eur Fermi. Get off at Magliana and change subways, now heading for Lido. Get off at Ostia Antica. Allow at least four hours for a leisurely visit. Wear shoes and socks for prickly weeds abound.