Aurelian Wall – This wall was built by the Emperor Aurelian, to stop the Germanic Tribes from raiding Rome, but the Emperor Aurelian died before the wall was complete. Lucky for the Romans, the Germanic Tribes were poorly equipped with weapons, so they couldn’t stage a massive battle. They could only do small attacks on unprotected areas of Rome, and the Wall was a deterrent to them.
In later times, the wall was no longer the protection it had originally been, as Rome expanded beyond its borders, leaving the civilisation unprotected. This was when Rome was nearing the end of its ruling period.
The wall was originally 19 kilometres long, 11 metres high and 3.5 metres thick. It had eighteen grand gates along its length, each being protected by large towers that were fortified by guards. When building the wall, to save money and time, they built over the top of existing buildings, incorporating them in to the wall. Examples are the Pyramid of Cestius and Castra Praetoria.
Today, the Aurelian Wall is a tourist attraction, and is not used any more for defense of the city.
Colosseum- The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, was a gladiator arena, where slaves or gladiators would fight animals, each other or any other spectacle the Emperor decided upon. Rich and wealthy people went to watch the brutality. The idea was first thought of by Emperor Vespasian, but it was built and completed by his son Titus. The Colosseum could hold from 50,000 to 80,000 people. Its main use was for gladiator battles, but sometimes it was used for animal hunts, executions, re-enactments and occasionally, mini sea battles. When they held mini sea battles, the colosseum was flooded with water. When filling up the arena with water, there was animals like bulls and horses that were taught how to move around in water almost as well as on land. There was also boats with gladiators on them, fighting other boats. The colosseum is now used as a tourist attraction and is a major historical site.
Leaning Tower of Pisa- The Leaning Tower of Pisa was a freestanding bell tower of the cathedral, of the city Pisa. The tower was built over 199 years, in three stages. The first stage was the ground floor. The second stage was when problems started to occur. When the second floor was being built, the tower started sinking. The building was put on hold for more than a century due to war. The break in the building process gave the soil time to settle, as the tower would have toppled if they hadn’t halted construction. To counter the tilt, the engineers made one side taller than the other. It was completed in 1319 and the bell chamber was added in 1372.
In 1998 they added lead counterweights to the base to help stabilise the tower. The tower today is a tourist attraction, as it is an amazing structure to look at, as well as being the third oldest structure in Pisa’s cathedral square.
Ancient Rome 