The Colosseum
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The facade of the Colosseum was made of limestone, brick and concrete with three types of marble facing superimposed -doric, ionic, and Corinthian.
The structure had barrel vaults radiating from the center, the weight was carried on travertine piers and vaults, marble seating was only used on lower tiers, wooden seating was used higher up the structure.
The V
elarium was the fabric canopy, which provided relief from sun for spectators in the arena.The stone barrel vault construction provided substructure for Greek and Republican theaters; there was a need for decoration of the exterior since it was not buried into the side of a hill like the Greek theater; the outer ring of piers and barrel vault acted as buttress as well as a crowd route.
On the exterior were applied marble ornaments.