[SunkenCiv]

Roman Colosseum Mystery Solved?
by Rossella Lorenzi
May 19 1999
Discovery Online News

The namesake of the Roman Colosseum, long thought lost, may have been found in the head of an huge, ancient bronze statue... the statue was originally placed outside the entrance of Nero's fabled Golden House. Later, the Emperor Hadrian had it moved near the Flavian Amplitheater -- the Colosseum's original name. The statue was presumed lost, but now archaeologist Serena Ensoli says it may actually lie camouflaged under the features of another gigantic bronze sculpture, one dedicated to Constantine the Great. The only remains of the Constantine sculpture, on display at the Capitoline museums in Rome, are three imposing fragments: the head, the left hand and a sphere... another fragment from the Constantine statue, a sphere, could be a remnant of the sun god's crown. Ensoli's hypothesis doesn't jive with some ancient sources, which say the Colossus Neronis was 30 meters high and required 24 elephants to move it near the Colosseum.

[SunkenCiv]

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[BenLurkin]

Rome is covered with graffiti — the Vatican, the ancient and historical sites are the only exceptions.

I wonder how long it will be before the spray paint vandals get around to those.

[maryz]

MAY 24, 1954

An Italian adage that "Rome and the world are safe, so long as the Colosseum stands" brought mass hysteria to Italy in 1954. On May 18, engineers were alarmed by huge cracks appearing in the 1,800-year-old amphitheater. Someone suggested the sign had come, and set the day of destruction at May 24. Thousands besieged the Vatican, hoping that the pope would absolve them from their sins. Despite a sharp rebuke from a Vatican prelate, who also added, "The world will see Tuesday and more Tuesdays to come," thousands appeared in St. Peter's Square on May 24. The prelate was proved right, and builders were sent to repair the Colosseum.

And this time???? ;-)

[Pelham]

But others covered it in graffiti

Sounds like some of SoCal's illegal aliens are vacationing in Rome.