Students turn ancient ruins into classroom
by: Allison Schubert
Students taking Point Park’s International Media class took learning outside of the classroom to a completely different level when they visited the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.
The class occurred during the previous spring semester and concluded with a trip to the five cities in Italy that students studied throughout: Rome, Assisi, Florence, Venice and Milan.
The students researched various forms of media and cultural sites that they were going to visit during the concluding trip to Italy that capped off the class and the semester.
One of those cultural sites was the historic Colosseum.
Professor Helen Fallon, along with Dr. Robin Cecala, Academic Coordinator Jan Getz and the students who took the International Media class, were led by Italian tour guide Katja through the landmark.
The Colosseum was commissioned in 70 A.D. by the emperor Vespasian. It was opened to the public in 80 A.D. by Vespasian’s son Titus under the official name ‘Flavian Amphitheatre.’
In honor of its completion, Titus held 100 days of games, including animal fights and combats between gladiators. These types of games and other events, including chariot races and public executions, would be held there for the rest of the existence of the Roman Empire.
According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could hold 87,000 people at maximum. More modern estimations have that number at around 50,000.
Adorning one side of the Colosseum is a large cross, placed there by a pope in the 18th century upon the blessing of the building. Popes will bless certain landmarks to ensure that it will be preserved for centuries to come, which is what happened in the case of the Colosseum, according to Katja.
In order to bless the Colosseum, the pope needed a reason that the building was important to the Catholic Church. The pope at the time declared that the blessing was for all of the Catholics who had lost their lives in the games held at the Colosseum over the four centuries that it was used.
Katja explained to students that almost no Catholics actually lost their lives there, however, and that it was simply an excuse to preserve the building. Most of those who lost their lives in the bloodshed at the Colosseum were slaves shipped over from Africa or wild animals captured and brought to Rome.
The tour started outside of the Colosseum, where Katja explained the history of the marble used to build the Colosseum, as well as the adornments that were once there.
“Statues used to decorate each of the arches in the Colosseum,” Katia said. “When Rome was conquered, citizens could take whatever they wanted from it, so the statues were among the first things to go.”
Once inside, students were welcomed by large pillars of marble and variations of ancient bricks.
Katja said that some were original, but some were from the restoration in the 1800s because of all of the pillaging that occurred, which explained the different styles of brick that made up the interior.
Students were then welcomed into the interior, where the games and events that were put on actually occurred.
The floor was no longer there because of its wood decaying, exposing the then-underground tunnels that slaves and animal would stay in. The more noble gladiators would come and go on a show-by-show basis, but they would also go through these tunnels to gain access to the stage.
“There were trap doors in the wood for the gladiators and animals to pop up through,” Katia said. “It made it exciting for the crowd; they didn’t know where the next person would come from.”
Katja led students to the emperor’s suite, located in the middle of the stage for optimal viewing, for photo opportunities and a bit of free time in the landmark.
She then concluded the tour by saying that the Colosseum brings in 3.9 million visitors every year, and it is one of the main sources of income for the city of Rome.
To help students better understand the differences between the Colosseum in its prime and the Colosseum today, Katia brought along a publication that showed then-and-now pictures.
“I liked seeing how the Romans built things to last forever,” senior broadcast reporting major Josh Croup said. “That’s what I was most struck by at the Colosseum. We build things to last a few decades, but they intended for that building to last forever.”