The theme for our ‪‎travel pics this week (and a bit) is I, for Italy.

This image is, of course, of the ruins of the Amphitheatrum Flavium – better known to us as The Colosseum.

But here’s the thing – The Colossus that the Colosseum was named for no longer exists. It was a giant statue of Nero – later remodelled to feature the faces of other emperors, or Apollo, or  Helios.

But there’s no trace of that statue any more, apart from the plinth on which it stood. (Ozymandias, anyone? 🙂 )

The Colosseum, on the other hand, still stands – bloodied, but unbowed as it were.

You’ll see that nature is trying to reclaim her dominance, but two thousand years after its construction the amphitheatre is still an amazing work.

Shirley and I sat on a smooth block of stone at the base of the wall where this shot was taken, to give sore feet a rest … and I wondered aloud, at the time, how many thousands of other sets of buttocks had polished the stone for exactly the same reason …