Light's, Camera, Fight!

On the day that my Uncle and cousin left we took a train from Venice to Rome.

Rome is cool! On the first day we went to the Colosseum. The Colosseum used to be a big arena used for gladiator fights. Gladiators fought with another glatiator in groups or 1 on 1 or an animal. There were spaces underneath the stage where the animals were kept before a fight. Gladiators were usually prisoners or criminals. There was also the ocasional nobleman who would be inspired by a victory. If a prisoner won 5 fights then he was granted freedom. That didn't happen as much as you might think seeing about 2 people a day died. In all of the 450 years that the Colosseum was used 300 000 men died.

The seats went by rank. The emporer had the best seat. The Vestel Virgins sat below him. The Vestel Virgins were a group of priestesses.
The rest of the men went from lowest rank at the top going down to higher ranks at the bottom. The bottom had the best view of the fights. The only place for the women was standing at the top.

The stone of the Colosseum has lots of holes in it. That's because when they stopped using it for fights they used it for making weapons. There used to be metal inside the stone so it wouldn't fall down in a earthquake. Thankfully there hasn't been an earthquake in 800 years.