Skip the Line: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Package

Skip the lengthy queue for the entry-ticket line and go straight to the fast lane entry for safety and security checks. After going into the Roman Colosseum at your assigned time, experience the tales of the Roman Emperors and gladiators.

Started under the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD, and finished by his follower Titus in 80 A.D., the Roman Colosseum was the biggest amphitheater ever before constructed.

Your ticket additionally consists of one entrance to Palatine Hill, a must-see view for all those visiting Rome. According to an old tradition, this is the area that is the birthplace of Eternal City. Overlook at the ancient ruins of Roman temples in the Imperial Forum, the center of all political, social, and also economic life in Rome throughout the Roman Republic.

Everyone recognizes the Colosseum with its three tiers of arcading. Strangely, it was not until the first century after Christ that Rome decided on the luxury of a permanent amphitheater for its infamous blood sports.

Completed under Titus, the arena is in the form of an ellipse measuring 190 by 155 m (620 by 513 ft) overall. Some 50,000 spectators could be accommodated to watch the gladiators and wild beast shows, protected from the rain or the scorching sun by the velum or velarium, a huge sailcloth awning stretched above the terraces.

The games were the constant talk of Rome; the inaugural performances lasted for 100 days and involved the slaughter of over 5,000 wild animals. The arena could also be flooded for the staging of mock naval combats. But was the Colosseum also the scene of Christian martyrdom? Nowadays the idea is viewed with some skepticism, though the Stations of the Cross set up around the arena perpetuates the belief. Whatever the truth, gladiator shows were held here till they were banned by Honorius (395-423) in 404. Transformed into a fortress in the Middle Ages, the building soon began to serve as a stone quarry. The Arch of Constantine is scarcely less famous than its world-renowned neighbor, it was raised in 315 to commemorate the victory of Constantine over his rival Maxentius.