St. Peter Basilica is located in the territory of the sovereign state of the Vatican. It often is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites, “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and “the greatest of all churches of Christendom.”

In the 1st century AD, the site of St. Peter’s Basilica hosted the Circus of Nero and a cemetery. According to ancient tradition, St. Peter was martyred in the Circus and buried nearby. This happened in 64 A.D. His simple grave was remembered and visited by the faithful, and in 324, Emperor Constantine began construction on a great basilica over the tomb. The shrine of St. Peter is still the central focus of the church today.

The building itself is truly impressive. Being one of the largest churches in the world, it has a 218 meter long nave. The basilica’s dome is the world’s largest measuring 42m in diameter and reaching 138 meter high (more than 450ft). The interior, which includes 45 altars, was decorated by many famous artists.[ADS]Some of the most important works in the church are the Pietà by Michelangelo, the papal altar by Bernini, the Throne of St. Peter – also by Bernini – and the Monument to the Stuarts by Canova. The opulent interior can be visited daily for free although a strict dress code is enforced.

However, it should be noted, that the St. Peter’s Basilica was not built with the same extension at the beginning. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V ordered the construction of a grand new cathedral. Almost nothing is left from the old building, except the relics, forged gates, drifted to the new cathedral sculptures and mosaics of the individual fragments. After the death of Nicholas V in 1455 the construction work was suspended. Since then, contractors and architects continually succeeded each other, so the completion of the temple lasted for about 170 years.[ADS2]Pope Julius II planned far more for St Peter’s than Nicholas V’s program of repair or modification. Julius was at that time planning his own tomb, which was to be designed and adorned with sculpture by Michelangelo and placed within St Peter’s. Firstly, Julius II appointed Donato Bramante as the chief architect of the new Basilica. In 1547 Michelangelo succeeded Bramante. He designed the imposing dome and altered some of the original plans. Michelangelo died in 1624, two years before the St. Peter’s basilica was dedicated by pope Urban VIII. Ever since, this church has been the center of Christianity, drawing pilgrims from all over the world.

The dome of the church always attracts the most significant attention and that’s where Michelangelo’s contribution is mainly resembled. Master criticized all his predecessors, and returned to the original plan of Bramante – only slightly modified and corrected dome pillars underneath. However, the version of Michelangelo remained little after time: intact preserved only the outer part of the apse. Finally, a facade with a portico added onto in the early XVII century, Carlo Maderno, completed the cathedral square.

Nowadays, the inner surface of the dome is decorated with images of four Evangelists: Matthew – an angel, Mark depicts a lion, Luke – with the ox, and John – with an eagle. Lion, an ox and an eagle are the animals, about which John the Evangelist writes in the “Apocalypse”, emphasizing that that these animals are around the throne of God.

It is obvious that St. Peter’s became the symbol of the power of the Catholic Church. But it has also become a model, and whose features are recognizable in all the major buildings of the most of the Christian countries temples within the following centuries. It still stands stunning in front of the visitor’s eye.

It was built on the order of the Imperator Vespasiano in the honour of the grandiosity of his empire, and was inaugurated by his son, Tito, in 80 after Christ with celebrations 100 days long. It is the largest thing ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

The name Coliseum probably comes from the big bronze statue of about 38 metres, known as the “Colosso”-giant, that Nerone wanted built on his image in the Domus Aurea. The work, representing the Imperator in the pants of the God Apollo, wanted to call back to the mind, with its extraordinary dimensions, the prestige and the fascination that another symbol of the Antiquity had had: the Colosso of Rhodes.

The statue was not situated as it is from the very beginning, but then it was moved by the Imperator Adriano close to the Amphitheatre and afterwards modified in its lines in order to look like to various imperators on one hand, and then, on the other hand, with the addition of a “crown of sun rays”, to the God Sun. However, it was only in the middle ages, that the name Coliseum started to take the place, in the common diction, of the name of “Amphitheatre Flavio”.
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The Coliseum, projected by Rabirio or maybe Gaudenzio, was welcoming long combats between gladiators, executions and hunting spectacles. The combats could go on from the sunrise to the sunset and also up to the deepest night when the gladiators were fighting illuminated by the light of the torches.

Still the question renders. Who were the ones fighting their lives and what was the price for it? Was it deliberate action or something they were obliged to do? Reviewing the history will bring us to the answer that Roman gladiators were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Most were men, but there were a few female gladiators. These combats were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience around the Roman Coliseum. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on. The gladiatorial games continued until Christianity progressively put an end to those parts of them which included the death of humans.

According to the chronicles of the time it looks like that the fights preferred by the public were the chaotic mélange of tens of gladiators invented by the Imperator Claudio, called “sportule”. All the religious celebrations, the recurrence and the military victories were celebrated, during the imperial era, with the combats of the gladiators. To defend the spectators from the ferocious animals they were installing a metallic fence, while during the most sunny days or the raining days, the public was protected by a big blue “velario” with yellow stars operated by a team of sailors of the fleet of Capo Miseno and of Ravenna.
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In general, Christian martyrs were often associated with the Coliseum itself, also if, according to recent studies, there are not documented proofs demonstrating the effective existence of massacres and slaughters inside the walls of the Amphitheatre Flavio. In any case, it is obvious that in 313 after Christ, the Imperator Constantine proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the empire, obviously forbidding the executions of Christians but also the combats between gladiators and the hunting spectacles.

During the following centuries the Coliseum initially became a cemetery, and then a fortress called “Frangipane” and finally a sort of cava for the construction materials. The degradation of the structure due to fires, earthquakes and sacks was stopped by Pope Benedetto XIV who consecrated the Amphitheatre to the Via Crucis and forbade any ulterior spoliation.

It is strongly believed that the Coliseum with its stunning grand look could attain at least 50,000 spectators. Today, some performances for the amusement of the visitors and travellers are still held outside the enormous amphitheater.

Although it is now in a ruined condition due to smash up cause by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Coliseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

Major restoration efforts have been preserving the structure. It is important to emphasize that the ancient amphitheater is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Rome, and one of Rome’s most popular tourist attractions. In 2007, the Colosseum was also named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.