Colosseum
Page 33
But titling a novel “Flavian Amphitheater” would not be quite so evocative. Nobody would have thought of blood, sand or gladiators, but rather of a stupendous example of imperial architecture.
And that is not quite what I had in mind.
This is without a doubt one of the most ambitious novels I have written, in terms of historical documentation: in order to enter into the maze of the Flavian Amphitheater and dissect its secrets, I needed the help of many guides. I wanted to place my trust in the oldest ones, going to consult sources that date back to the reigns of Titus and Vespasian, but at the same time I preferred not to neglect the work of more modern historiographers who, in the course of their investigations, have analyzed the most disparate aspects of the Colosseum’s history.
At times, during the journey, it was necessary to consult technical texts intended for those working in the sector, while on other occasions works aimed at a wider audience came to my rescue, explaining in plain language the realities of everyday Roman life during the first century AD.
In the bibliography that follows, you will find both types. A special thanks goes to the authors of the texts listed, for having breathed a little historical nourishment into an imagination otherwise so blatantly dependent on Hollywood.
Various authors, Sangue e Arena (exhibition catalogue), Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Archaeological Department of Rome, editorial production by Electa, 2001.
Various authors, Rota Colisei: La valle del Colosseo attraverso i secoli (exhibition catalogue), by Rossella Rea, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Archaeological Department of Rome, editorial production by Electa, 2002.
Alberto Angela, Una giornata nell’antica Roma. Vita quotidiana, segreti e curiosità, RAI Mondadori, Rome-Milan 2007.
Ross Cowan, Angus McBride (illustrated by), Roman Legionary (58 BC – AD 69), Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford 2003.
Federica Guidi, Morte nell’arena. Storia e leggenda dei gladiatori, Mondadori, Milan 2006.
Keith Hopkins, Mary Beard, Il Colosseo: La storia e il mito, Laterza, Rome-Bari 2008.
Martial, Epigrammi, introductive essay and introduction by M. Citroni, translation into Italian by M. Scandola, notes by E. Merli, Bur, Milan 1996.
Fik Meijer, Un giorno al Colosseo: Il mondo dei gladiatori, Laterza, Rome-Bari 2006.
Konstantin Nossov, Gladiatori: Sangue e spettacolo nell’antica Roma, published by Goriziana, Gorizia 2010.
Fabrizio Paolucci, Gladiatori: I dannati dello spettacolo, Giunti, Florence-Milan 2003.
Rossella Rea, Heinz-Jürgen Beste, Lynne C. Lancaster, Il cantiere del Colosseo, in “Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung”, 109, 2002.
Graham Sumner, Roman Military Clothing Vol. 1 (100 BC – AD 200), Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford 2002.
Peter Wilcox, Angus McBride (illustrated by), Rome’s Enemies 2. Gallic and British Celts, Reed International BooksLtd., London 1985.
Acknowledgments
WRITING COLOSSEUM HAS been a great adventure. An adventure that began a long while back, its roots planted firmly in my obsession with history and the faith placed by the publisher and the entire editing team in the modest abilities of a narrator of dark tales. Ever since I began to take an interest in ancient history I have wanted to write about gladiators; hell, anyone who thinks of Imperial Rome cannot help but imagine the gods of the arena going at it like Mars commanded. There was no way someone like yours truly, accustomed to telling stories of bloody conflict, could pass up the opportunity to describe that sort of battle to the death. However, I wanted something a bit special, one of those stories that leaves its mark. Luckily, almost two thousand years ago, that bad boy Martial jotted one down that fit the bill exactly. Thanks to him, but above all thanks to Verus, Priscus and the miracle they managed to pull off on that August afternoon, my dream has come true. I have put a big chunk of my heart into the pages of this novel, and lavished all the energy on it that I could. But none of it would have been worth it without the invaluable help of those who were along for the ride with me. I am in debt to all of them, so allow me to thank them properly. Thank you Gianni Biondillo and Lorenza Ghinelli, the very first fans of Colosseum.
Thanks to Michele Rossi, who switched on the time machine.
Thanks to Viola Vastola, attentive expert of ancient and classical history and an indispensable help during the long months spent drafting the novel.
Thanks to Caterina Campanini for her invaluable editing work.
Thanks to my agent Piergiorgio Nicolazzini for his impeccable professionalism and constant diligence.
My final thanks, as always the most important of all, go to those of you who have bought or borrowed this book. I thank you sincerely, because without you I could not be here doing what I do.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Originally published in Italy as Colosseum
Translated from Italian by Ross Alexander Nelhams
Copyright © 2012 by Simone Sarasso
English translation © 2014 RCS Libri S.p.A., Milan
Cover image © Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel Images
Art Director: Francesca Leoneschi
Graphic Designer: Andrea Cavallini/theWorldofDOT
978-1-4804-4275-7
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