La Ludis

Games (ludus) or celebrations were originally, for the Romans, a kind of religious ceremony, a rite performed to curry favour with the gods, had a propitiatory or commemorative purpose.

The games (ludus) could be of four types: 'theatrical', 'circus', 'athletic' and 'hunting'. In the Flavian amphitheatre, the most famous arena in the ancient world, gladiatorial fights (munera), hunting performances (venationes) and, at the beginning, also naval battles took place. executions were also carried out in the arena, but there is no historical evidence that Christians were martyred there.

The demonstrations were of various kinds, sometimes cruel and sometimes reminiscent of circus shows with trained animals.

In any case, each performance required a great deal of organisation and resulted in very high costs.

During the games, the coliseum hosted a huge crowd on its stands, ready to watch the extraordinary spectacles with greed and excitement....try to imagine over 50,000 spectators who were not 'in their skin' and who enjoyed the blood of the gladiators and the ferocity of the beasts....

We, today, take pleasure in the silence of the colosseum, in its nocturnal atmosphere and in the moment when it lights up every time a capital punishment is suspended in the world. we like it that way today, even without its beautiful marbles; purified by time.