The Colosseum which opened in 80 AD and the activities that took place there have been immortalized in blockbuster movies such as the Gladiator, but to really understand the sheer magnitude and impressiveness of the structure it must be viewed first hand. Although the Colosseum was partly destroyed by an earthquake, it is still an impressive sight to behold. As the stage where bloody scenes of man vs. man or man vs. beast played out before the Roman people, visitors can almost hear the clash of metal on metal and the roar of the bloodthirsty crowd. At one time the structure sat over 45,000 people.