This is a reconstruction, a little fanciful but which can give us an idea, that makes us understand how the Colosseum, over the centuries, has always been the undisputed protagonist of the life of Rome and the Romans. We are in the XII century, a turbulent period for the city due to the numerous political upheavals in which popes and, above all, noble families and clans, were the protagonists. A moment in which the Romans could not live in peace, considering that the various potentates loved making war with each other in order to take control of the city. And, as often happened, they certainly did not disdain the fortification of one or more complexes, for the sole purpose of better defending themselves from the attacks of rival families.

For example are famous the examples of the Teatro Marcello or the monumental fountain of the Septizodium, located along the current Via di San Gregorio, close to the Circus Maximus, which were magnificent ruins that during the Middle Ages reused as fortifications. Both the ancient buildings were occupied by baronial and powerful families who reused them as a fortress, as well as to emphasize the prestige of these clans who could afford to live in and reuse ancient monuments. Sometimes, however, it happened that someone had great aims, as did the Frangipane, at the time a highly respected and very powerful noble family, which penetrated the Colosseum fortifying it! The famous amphitheater, for a certain period, was transformed into a castle, an impregnable fortress in which members of the Frangipane family lived, controlling the very symbol of Rome!

Imagine, therefore, the political and symbolic value of this deed. It is said that, among other things, all those who found themselves passing near the Colosseum, were targeted by stones and even arrows. A Colosseum that has become a castle in all respects, with some of the lower arches and not only that were walled up: the remains of these fortifications still remain today by means of some of the clearly visible holes on the travertine pillars of the building. Nothing new because in the course of the centuries scattered, poor, beggars, prostitutes, followers of Satan or of dark orders and cults took the Colosseum as their seat, home, sanctuary, depending on the traditions and of legends. Among other things, in 1332 the Colosseum was used, for a short period of time, as an arena to host shows and games with the bulls (more or less trying to reinvoke the ancient venationes), making the monument, for the very last time, the arena for which it was conceived. And this thanks to the fact that the Colosseum had become a real private property. In short, if two thousand years ago the Flavian Amphitheater was the symbol par excellence of entertainment, over the centuries (well beyond the Middle Ages), it has transformed into many other things, an object whose function were continuously changed following styles and aimes. Another way to understand how the Colosseum was always the star of Rome...