When I was in my undergraduate studies at Slippery Rock University, I kicked around many majors and minors. Upon entering the university, I started out as a chemistry major, which was a horrible idea considering I am not strong with science. I then switched my major to communication, which is the degree that I graduated with. I then tried to take on a double major by adding art, which I later dropped to a minor. I later wanted to switch the art minor to an art history minor. I settled on a French minor.
Like I said, I was all over the place. To recap, I graduated with a BA in communication and a minor in French. Anyways, I am bringing this all up because I love art history.
I took four art history classes at SRU (I needed two more to complete an art history minor). So let’s just say, I have learned about the Colosseum a lot. However, today I learned my education regarding the Colosseum was truly slacking. I did not know nearly as much as I thought I did.
Katja, an Italian native, gave a fantastic tour of this gorgeous monument. She shared information that one could never learn from a textbook. For example, she discussed how Romans imported animals from all over the world. She said while animals like elephants and giraffes may not seem so exotic today, the Romans were fascinated. She said many Roman historians believe that if the Colosseum remained open to this day, many animals would have gone extinct.
Katja talked about how the Colosseum could fit 50,000 sitting people, but that it could fit more if the low-class people at the top stood. She said they could be in their seats and out of the Colosseum in 40 minutes, which truly shows how efficient Romans are! Anytime I go to a concert these days, I dread the exiting process because I feel as if it goes so slow.
Katja also shared pictures of the modern day Colosseum versus its ancient counterpart. These pictures really allowed me to visualize, and helped me feel as if I was in ancient Rome. It was truly amazing to be able to finally be able to see something I have learned about so much in person and learn about it in a new light.
I would definitely recommend going on a guided tour of the Colosseum. I felt as if I walked in there with no guide, I would appreciate its beauty, but that I would be overwhelmed with what I was looking at. With having Katja as our guide, she explained exactly what we were looking at.
I am very excited for Katja to give us a tour of the Vatican tomorrow!