I know I keep saying this but here’s another place that was huge. The colosseum by far was the most massive structure we saw! If you look closely you can see crowds of people standing around. They’re about the size of ants in this photo. I like how you can see the different layers in here.

“The Flavian amphitheater (A.D. 72-80) never fails to impress, for its elegant, enduring bulk, and its disturbing former function as a theater of slaughter. At the height of the Roman Empire, games were held almost every other day; in times of special celebration, games could last for weeks or months on end. Free tesserae (tickets) were distributed to about 65,000 Romans, who could be seated in the arena in a matter of minutes, thanks t an efficient system of 80 numbered vomitoria (entrance/exit passageways).

Against slashing swords and gnashing lions’ teeth, gladiators and bestiarii (animal fighters) fought to the death, hoping to someday win their freedom. (In the Colosseum’s 400 year history, fewer than 100 men ever did.)”

Reference: Frommer’s Rome Day by Day