Posted on 12/20/2008 9:25:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
They came. They saw. They slaughtered. And now, almost 2,000 years after fighters and wild animals last entertained the rabble, gladiators are set to return to the Colosseum.
Umberto Broccoli, the head of archaeology at Rome city council, said it was time that the five million people who visited the Colosseum annually saw the kind of shows originally staged there. They should also experience “the sights, sounds and smells” of Ancient Rome.
Mauro Cutrufo, the deputy mayor, said that a series of events would be held next year to mark the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Vespasian, who began the construction of the Colosseum.
It has yet to be decided whether the mock combats will be staged on a floor placed over the subterranean chambers in the arena or on a stage outside it. Mr Broccoli insisted that the fights would be authentic, with gladiators using the same weapons.
Related Links Rome carriage horses to get 'black boxes' Gladiators return to Rome's Colosseum Tomb of real 'Gladiator' found in Italy Mr Broccoli, who is also a radio and television journalist, said that this would not be the kind of tacky show put on by the fake gladiators who now pose for photographs, and nor would it be a Disneyland attraction.
Instead, it would be an educational tool for bringing the spirit of antiquity alive. During fight displays visitors will hear descriptions of the gladiators’ life and customs by Seneca, the 1st-century philosopher and imperial adviser.
Asked if the planned shows might be thought vulgar, Mr Broccoli retorted: “The gladiators themselves were vulgar, they were sweaty, they stank and they swore. Why not show them as they were, for real?”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Ping
The Colosseum is one of the coolest places I have ever visited. It’s amazing it still stands today.
Sounds like the DUmmies.
Nuttin' like the smell of pee and poopoo.
Civilization.
It’ll be a mosque soon enough.
Sounds like most of The House and Senate not to mention Rowdy Roddy.
"Sounds like the DUmmies."
Well, if you weighed 350 lbs and had to get up to run and fetch your carton of twinkies, you'd be doing that, too.
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If a vegetable can have a fulfilling, productive life in Italy, there's still hope for Al Gore.
But I’m sure Mr. Broccoli would tell you “It isn’t easy being green”...
I’m sure he’s a long way from his salad days. He can afford to fork over the green to buy a few extra carrots for his wife. Now that he’s the big cheese, he needs to resist the urge to run around with a sexy tomato or he might find himself on the compost heap.
Umm...They had public flush toilets.
"Well, let me tell you, those gladiators will be...
Choppin' broccoli."
You mean the gladiators were allowed to go potty in the middle of a match ?
I am Spartacus! ping.
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