When the popes got
control of Rome, they tried to eliminate all reminders of it’s pagan past. This
happened after Constantine, whose arch stands near the crumbling colosseum.
(That’s his arch in the photo below.) It was the Roman Catholic Church that encouraged
the destruction of pagan sites.
If you look at the first picture and the one below,
you will see that the top and outside walls of the colosseum have crumbled and
fallen. According to our local guide, the popes allowed or even encouraged
people to recycle the building materials—primarily the marble blocks and the
iron rods that held the walls together and strengthened the entire structure. (If
you look closely at the photo below, you will notice the many holes in the
façade where the iron rods were removed.) Without these supports, the walls
couldn’t withstand earthquakes and the many natural eroding effects of time.
The popes eventually realized the value of remembering
the past and began protecting and even restoring sites like this. But much of
the damage had already been done.
Fortunately, much of the colosseum’s history was
preserved by writers for whom it was their present.* And we can do the same for
subsequent generations by recording what is happening right now. It’s our turn
to preserve history.
I can’t resist leaving you with a photo of Roland and
me standing in front of the colosseum. But I’m not leaving Rome yet. I’ll have
more about it in next week’s post.
__________
* These writers include Dio Cassius and Tertullian. I
haven’t read them, but you can try if you want.
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