The Coliseum is an ancient stadium in the center of Rome. It is the largest of its kind. It is very old. They started building it in the year 70. It took ten years to build. It is still around today. The Coliseum has been used in many ways. In ancient Rome, men fought each other in it. They fought against lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my! It was dreadful. But most of the people loved it. As many as 80,000 Romans would pack inside to watch. These gruesome events went on until 523. The Coliseum has been damaged many times over the years. It was struck by lightning in the year 217. This started a fire. Much of the Coliseum is made of stone. But the fire damaged the upper levels. They were made of wood. This damage took many years to repair. It was not finished until the year 240. The worst damage happened in 1349. A mighty earthquake shook Rome and the Coliseum. The south side of the building collapsed. Pieces of the arena were all over the ground. Many people took the fallen stones. Others took stones from the seating areas. They used them to repair houses and churches. The Romans of those days were not connected to the Coliseum. It had last been used as a castle. Before that it was a graveyard. It has been hundreds of years since the games. The damage to the Coliseum was never repaired. It's a good thing the outer wall of it still stands strong. Today the Coliseum is one of Rome's most popular attractions. People from all over the world come to Italy to see it. The Pope leads a big march around it every Good Friday. It is a symbol that many know. It has even appeared on the back of a coin. I guess that makes it a symbol that many people want too.