Is the Rome Colosseum Leaning?

Is the Rome Colosseum leaning like the Leaning Tower of Pisa?  Well...., the answer is yes and no.

Rome's Colosseum is not leaning as much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Yes Rome's Colosseum is leaning.

Rome's Colosseum might be leaning slightly but its stability is not in danger, said officials who on Tuesday announced that the ancient amphitheater is about to undergo its first comprehensive restoration in 73 years.



Experts first noticed the incline about a year ago and have been monitoring it for the past few months, Rossella Rea, director at the 2,000-year-old monument, said in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

The paper reported that the Colosseum, famous for hosting bloody gladiator fights in the days of the Roman Empire, is about 40 cm (16 inches) lower on the south side than on the north.

The Italian media described it as the "leaning tower of Pisa effect".

Prof Giorgio Monti, from La Sapienza's construction technology department, said there might be a crack in the base below the amphitheater.

"The slab of concrete on which the Colosseum rests, which is like a 13-metre-thick oval doughnut, may have a fracture inside it," he told the newspaper.

He said intervention could be necessary if the concerns are confirmed, along the lines of stabilization work carried out in Pisa, but he said it was too early to judge what kind of intervention would be most suitable.

"There is no problem with its stability," Mariarosaria Barbera, Rome's archaeological superintendent, told a news conference.

"We are talking about a structure whose foundations are 13 meters (40 feet) deep. Roman constructions do not only stand up to centuries, they stand up to millennia," she said  In fact, the Colosseum in Rome is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

"We are monitoring it but there is no Tower of Pisa effect," Barbera said at the unveiling of the 25 million euro restoration project which will start in December and end in 2015.

The project will include the cleaning and restoration of the entire Colosseum, known in Roman times as the Flavian Amphitheater.

It will be carried out in phases so that the Colosseum, which receives hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, will remain open. Only part of it will be covered by scaffolding at any one time.

"The monument is so big that there won't be too much inconvenience for visitors," Barbera said.

An underground visitors center will be built under an adjacent piazza, freeing up more areas inside the monument, which are currently used as meeting points and ticket stalls.

Overall, some 25 percent more of the Colosseum will be open to visitors after the restoration, particularly the underground network of tunnels, storerooms and cages.

Two thirds of the underground parts are currently not open to the public.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said the traffic around the Colosseum will be re-routed by the end of the restoration to decrease damage from vibration. He said at a news conference it would be the first major restoration in 73 years.

"There have been various small projects but nothing of this level has been carried out in all this time," Alemanno said.

The work is being sponsored by Tod's, the luxury shoemaker and leather goods company.

Diego Della Valle, chairman of Tod's said the Colosseum had to be taken care of because "it does not only belong to Italians but to every citizen of the world."

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

For more about traveling to Italy visit ItalianTourism.us.

Rome Italy Travel: Ancient Roman Forum House of the Vestal Virgins Opens

House of Vestal Virgins Rome Forum

Great news for Rome Italy travelers and for those on a cruise around Italy. After twenty years, Rome has reopened the House of the Vestal Virgins, remains of an ancient Roman palace flanking ruins of the imperial seat of government in the Roman Forum.

The House of the Vestal Virgins, (Atrium Vestae), was the residence of the Vestal Virgins, the high priestesses of the cult of Vesta. The cult of Vesta is dates back to its founder Numa Pompilius (753-673 BC; king of Rome, 715-673 BC) who was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus.  The Vestal Virgins had their residence in the same location from the 6th century BCE to the end of the 4th century CE. It is located on the Forum Romanum, just behind the Temple of Vesta, between the Regia and the Palatine Hill.

Statues of the vestals surround pool in House of Vestal Virgins

Major renovations to the structure were inaugurated with the opening of a new visitors' route through the ruins called Via Nova, which traverses the northwest slope of the Palatine Hill overlooking the Forum and ends at the Atrium Vestae, or ancient palace.

The configuration of Via Nova is believed to date back to urban planning made in the wake of a blaze that razed much of Rome in 64 AD, but may be older.

More than 4,000 meters were refurbished along the route, of which the Atrium Vestae occupies 1,568 square meters. Work focused on restoring the structural stability and integrity of the ruins.

The Atrium Vestae was once a 50-room palace built around an elegant, rectangular garden, decorated with statues and two pools. It housed the priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth, who were entrusted with keeping a flame eternally lit in the Temple of Vesta, located next door.

The high priestess selected six initiates between the ages of six and 10 from Roman patrician families. Physical perfection was an important criteria. The girls took vows of chastity and served the Cult of Vesta for 30 years.

Vestal priestesses were revered, lived in luxury and relative independence, and were free from obligations to marry and rear children. At the end of their 30-year service they could choose whether to marry or remain with the cult.

The renovation and reopening of the House of the Vestal Virgins was conducted as part of a larger program for the rehabilitation of the Roman Forum, funded with 19 million euros from private and public funds, according to Rome councilor Dino Gasperini.

Gasperini called the opening of Via Nova and the House of the Vestal Virgins "a goal that waited too many years."

"It is another place that has been returned to the city and to tourists who come to Rome to admire the archeology," said Culture Undersecretary Francesco Giro.

Visit Italian Tourism website for more about Rome holidays.  Click Rome Cruise 2011 for full listing of cruises around Italy from Rome.  Or, plan an Amalfi Coast holiday and visit Rome as well.  Italian Tourism also has full selection of Italy pre cruise tours and Italy post cruise tours. Whatever your Italy travel plans Italian Tourism has the Italy travel package and Italy tour package for you.