Gladiators to make a comeback in Rome
Gladiators to make a comeback in Rome
Gladiators are to return to Rome's Colosseum. Almost 2,000 years after the last gladiatorial combat in the city, modern day fighters will take part in mock battles, allowing visitors to experience life in ancient Rome.
Local authorities in Rome hope to revive interest in the city's history, according to discovery.com. Throughout 2009, tourists taking a
city break in Rome are set to be entertained by gladiators at the
Colosseum.
Umberto Broccoli, the head of archaeology at Rome City Council, said that the five million visitors expected at the city's ancient arena would be able to experience the "sights, sounds and smells" of
ancient Rome. He hoped that the new approach would revive interest in the city's past: We do not need to enshrine historical sites and monuments, we need to make them more spectacular. [They] must speak to the public in a new way," he told the
Italian paper, La Repubblica.
Broccoli said that modern day
gladiators would take part in mock fights, wearing original costumes and using the same tools of combat as their historical counterparts, such as nets, daggers and tridents. The reenactments will take place in the evening, accompanied by readings from Latin poets, and are intended to be a serious project.
The events will paint a
realistic picture of the combatants, Broccoli added: "The gladiators themselves were vulgar. They were sweaty, they stank and they swore. Why not show them as they really were?"
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