Colosseum

I am a giant circle of warm, honey-colored stones, standing in a big, busy city. I look like a giant hug made of rock! I have lots of open arches all around me. They are like windows saying a big 'hello!' to the sun, the moon, and all the puffy white clouds that float by. Little green plants sometimes grow on my old walls, and little birds love to build their cozy nests in my nooks and crannies. I have been here for a very, very long time, watching the world and keeping its stories safe inside my walls.

I am the Colosseum! A long, long time ago, around the year 80, an emperor named Vespasian wanted to give a special gift to all the people in his city, Rome. He decided to build me! It was like building with the biggest blocks in the world. Stone by stone, my walls grew taller and taller. His sons, like Titus, helped finish me after he was gone, making sure I was perfect. I was built to be a happy place for amazing shows and fun parades. Thousands of people would come to visit. They would sit on my stone seats, cheer for their heroes, and watch exciting things together under the bright blue sky. I loved to hear their happy shouts and all the joyful laughter.

Now, I am very old, and some of my pieces are missing. It's like a toy you have played with for a long, long time. But I am still standing tall and strong. I am proud of my story. Friends from all over the world come to visit me every single day in the city of Rome. They walk through my big arches and look up at the sky. They use their imaginations to picture all the happy parades I once held. I love feeling the warm sunshine on my stones and hearing the happy chatter of new friends. I am a special place that connects today's world with a time long, long ago. I will always be here to share my stories and remind you to imagine big things.