Field Trips!

Is it a Colloseum or an Ampitheater??

Hello Everyone! I am Mitchell Allen, a sophomore computer engineering student from Rochester, Minnesota. Day 2 of ENGR 271 was full of adventures that were both fascinating and educational. The day started early with a surprisingly tasty hotel breakfast that started at 7am (midnight back home) that included orange juice, muffins, croissants and much more. Our Italian guide Claudio set up a tour for the Coliseum. Big vans were waiting for us outside the hotel which were situated so that three people are sitting facing another three, which was new for us.

Mitch standing in front of the Colloseum looking suave per usual.

After arriving, Claudio gave us a summary of the surrounding area which included the Coliseum and also a gladiator training school named Ludus Magnus (big game). The school is the only one of its kind that was attached to the Coliseum directly underground. The tunnel is no longer functional.

Before the official tour, Claudio gave us a little lesson on the Greek influence on the outside makeup of the Coliseum. The columns, going up, are each different types of Greek columns. On the lowest level, the Coliseum sports Doric columns, which have flat tops. Above, Ionic columns are added which have two volutes on the top. Finally, the top two columns are Corinthian style, which are more intricate and spiky.

What’s left of the former gladiator homes just outside of the Colosseum.

This shows a reenactment of what the ancient romans used to raise people to the floor of the stadium. What a lot of people don’t know is that there was actually a tunnel system under the main combat floor. Slaves would work below and feed the animals and prepare gladiators.

We had to split into two groups to go to the tour and I ended up being in the second group. While the others were taking the tour, we were free to explore. We went to the top of a nearby hill (we later learned it was called Palatine Hill) which had pretty trees and a church on top. The church, which was open to our surprise, was pretty and had crosses for sale which we picked up. We then made our way back in time for the tour. The tour required wearing earbuds connected to a walkie talkie from the tour guide so that she could be easily heard. The tour was spectacular and informative. One thing I found interesting was the amount of engineering that took place below the fighting stage. There were many elevators underneath the stage that allowed for gladiators or wild animals to be lifted vertically onto the stage for the onlookers to enjoy. These elevators were normally powered by slaves operating a winch.

an exterior shot of the Colosseum, or at least what still stands. This is the only remaining exterior of the building and is constructed of a special rock taken from local Roman mines.

Just a few of the engineers taking a much needed break in front of one of the millions of Roman churches.

After making our way through the tour to the highest level of the Flavian Amphitheatre (the official name), we had the opportunity to observe the magnificent view of not only the whole Coliseum and also of Rome.

The adventure didn’t stop after the tour ended. We still had to navigate back to the hotel through the metro system. We were given directions at the beginning of the day and managed to follow them flawlessly to the correct destination, which was steps from where we were staying. Roman public transportation is not bad!

Professor Besser had a debrief session planned for us after arrival where we went over cultural differences between America and Italy. Then, we walked to an Italian language lesson. We got to learn how to ask important questions such as “May I pet your dog?”. Italian is very similar to Spanish, which made it fun and easy to pick up. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store! Ciao!

For those of you who love food, I thought I would take the chance to post some of our pictures from our meals. Be warned this food is very good and may lead to you wanting to travel to Italy. Also, we would love to share pictures of the different wines made in Italy but, not much changes visually from red wine to red wine. They mostly look the same. Enjoy!