When the Colosseum was built in the late 1st century A.D., the Romans, who were known for their architectural acumen, managed to amaze themselves. Martial, a Roman poet writing during the inauguration of the Colosseum, clearly believed the Colosseum was so grand a monument that it was even greater than the other Wonders of the Ancient World, which had been written about and visited endlessly by the Romans and Greeks in antiquity. Indeed, although the Wonders were wondrous to behold, the Colosseum was a spectacular achievement in architecture, something new and innovative, and therefore an amazing “Wonder” in its own way.
For well over a thousand years, the Forum was the scene of intense construction, as well as social, political, and commercial activity, making the Forum a boon for the study of Roman history, even though some buildings in the Forum are of such importance that they cannot be disassembled in order to discover the older layers underneath and thus find more evidence about the origins of this area. Ultimately, the Forum transformed from being a backwater used for grazing livestock into the religious and political center of Roman life, and it has long been an inspiration for subsequent generations, influencing the Renaissance, Romanticism, and even Fascism.
Although Roman roads may not have attained the glamorous status of other inventions, their influence is just as profound; roads provide essential communication and transport lines for any country – throughout the hundreds of years when Rome was ascendant in the ancient world, the roads they built held together first their republic and then their empire into a cohesive unit. Since the Appian Way was first built in 312 BC, it has inspired poets, slaves, and conquerors, and Mark Antony, Spartacus, Hannibal, and Horace are just a few of the notable historical personalities who travelled on the Appian Way.
