This article was originally featured in Explorica’s 2012 fall magazine highlighting students trips to Rome. We’ll be sharing 20 life-changing educational travel tours throughout the season. Transform your students’ lives (and maybe your own) with any of these exceptional teacher-led tour experiences. [hs_action id=”1377″]
Take Center Stage at the Colosseum
Imagine how the re-enactments of famous battles and animal hunts played out below, the palpable fear and bravado hanging in the air while spectators jeered, trumpets blared, and drums thumped. The picture starts to come to life easily…with the help of an expert narrator. As you wander the amphitheater, your private audio guide walks you through 2,000 years of history over the course of just a few hours.
Through your headset, a narrator paints vivid scenes as you walk the corridors and under the archways of various gate and seating entrances. Touch the marble slabs and stone and brick walls while your narrator shares the history of the architecture, political landscape, and grandiose opening ceremony that lasted 100 days. Think of it as live 3D theater where you are the main character in the most authentic setting.
Change roles as you move from section to section. Though entry was free for the 70,000 Roman citizens, sections were divided according to social status with seats for commoners at the top and distinct areas for men and women. The closer to the arena, the higher your social status. Imagine a front row view with senators, vestals, priests, and—naturally—the emperor. Does it affect how you view the spectacle? Can you hear the change in the roar of the crowd as you move in?
Though gladiator events were most popular, it was not always about bloody battles. Less cruel and more unique events also took place in the Colosseum, like the famous exhibition of an elephant who knew how to write words in the sand with its trunk. Or, in the less glorious days of the Middle Ages, when the amphitheater was no longer in use and became an enormous marble, lead, and iron quarry used by Popes to build Barberini Palace, Piazza Venezia, and even St. Peter’s Basilica. You may be surprised to learn it once even housed hospitals, hermits, and a cemetery.
If these walls could talk, you’d be in the center of the conversation. And that’s how this exclusive tour is meant to be. So take your time, listen up, and let the narrated details bring the view to life. Your history lesson will continue with every footstep. What better way to experience arguably the most extraordinary of Rome’s monuments— like a moving storybook with original pictures before you. [hs_action id=”1377″]