1420年威尼斯的贵族孔塔里尼(Marion Contarini)兴建这栋豪宅时，使用当时最昂贵的涂料，再掺入金箔使得外墙如同黄金般的耀眼夺目，但是多年来经过屡次的修改和整建，再加上大水的不断侵蚀，黄金屋已经褪色不少。尤其是1864年，一位俄国的芭蕾舞伶成为它的屋主后，改变装饰破坏历史古迹，1915年由法兰克提男爵将它捐给威尼斯政府之后，才得以保存而成为今日三层楼的美术馆(Galleria Franchetti)，馆内收藏多半是十五世纪的雕塑及绘画，有Titian，Sansovino， Alessandro Vittoria， Mantegna， Giorgione， Tintoretto 和 Antonio Van Dyck。其中以提香(Titian)的画最为传神。
Ca， d，Oro (correctly the Palazzo Santa Sofia) is one of the most beautiful palazzos on the Grand Canal in Venice， Italy and surely the most famous. One of the older palazzos， it has always been known as Ca， d，Oro (golden house) due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls.
The Palazzo was built between 1428 and 1430 for the Contarini family， who provided Venice with no less than eight Doges between 1043 and 1676. Upon election， each new Doge would leave his own palazzo and take up residence in the Doge，s Palace.
The architects of the Ca， d，Oro were Giovanni Bon and his son Bartolomeo Bon. The work of these two sculptorssculptor n.雕刻家 and architects epitomises the Gothic style in Venice： they are best known for their work on the Doge，s Palace and in particular the Porta della Carta with its monumental sculpture of the judgement of Solomon.
The 15thcentury Ca， d，Oro is one of the best preserved and most impressive of the hundreds of patricianpatrician n.贵族 adj.贵族的 palazzilining the Grand Canal. After the Palazzo Ducale， it，s the city，s finest example of Venetian Gothic architecture. A restoration of its delicate pinkandwhite facade (its name， the Golden Palace， refers to the giltcovered facade that faded long ago) was completed in 1995. Inside， the ornate beamed ceilings and palatialpalatial adj.富丽堂皇的 trappings provide an attentiongrabbing backdrop for the private collection of former owner Baron Franchetti， who bequeathed his palazzo and artworks to the city during World War I.
The Venetian Gothic style is Byzantine in appearance. On the Ca， d，Oro，s ground floor a recessed colonnaded loggia gives access to the entrance hall (portego de mezo) directly from the canal. Above this colonnade is the enclosed balcony of the principal salon on the piano nobile. The columns and arches of this balconybalcony n.阳台， 包厢， (戏院)楼厅 have capitals which in turn support a row of quatrefoil windows of great delicacy； above this balcony is another enclosed balcony or loggia of a similar yet even lighter design. To describe the style of the palazzo simply it is a cross between a medieval church and a Moorish temple. This wedding cake exterior gives no hint that the palazzo is in fact built (like most other Palazzi) around a small inner courtyard.
In 1922 the palazzo was bequeathedbequeath vt.遗赠， 遗留， 把……传下去 to the State by its last owner and saviour Baron Giorgio Franchetti who had acquired it in 1894. Following extensive restoration to its former glory (including the reconstruction of the stairway)， it is now open to the public as a gallery.
The core collection， expanded over the years， now includes sculptures， furniture， 16thcentury Flemish tapestriestapestry n.织锦， 挂毯 vt.编织锦或织画， 用挂毯装饰， an impressive collection of bronzes (12th～16th c.)， and a gallery whose most important canvases are Andrea Mantegna，s San Sebastiano and Titian，s Venus at the Mirror， as well as lesser paintings by Tintoretto， Carpaccio， Van Dyck， Giorgione， and Jan Steen. For a delightful break， step out onto the palazzo，s loggia， overlooking the Grand Canal， for a view up and down the waterway and across to the Pescheria， a timeless vignette of an unchanged city. Off the loggia is a small but worthy ceramics collection， open 10a.m. to noon.
The Colosseum
惊心动魄的斗兽场
举世闻名的古罗马斗兽场，是一座椭圆形的古建筑，建于公元80年，这里是游览古罗马的最好地点。斗兽场的椭圆形为188米×159米，高57米。斗兽场内可容纳5万名观众，椭圆形的拱廊共开有80条通道，便于观众迅速找到自己的位置，又便于紧急疏散。
“斗兽场”是公元8世纪初期，罗马帝国的全盛时期弗拉维奥王朝的三个皇帝所建。位于意大利首都罗马台伯河边，远远望去，“斗兽场”很像一个现代的圆形体育场，其直径最长处为188米，最短处为156米，椭圆外周长为529米，分为四层高约50米的外墙全都用大理石砌成。最下一层是从四面八方直通场内的80个高大的拱门，每一个门楣上都用罗马数字编了号，大小直径两端有四个专供皇帝和显贵们出入的及有编号的门，第二层、三层为回廊。四层为闭合的围墙，上面只有40个透气孔，在每层之间都雕有精细的饰带。从门洞往里走约50米，就到了竞技和斗兽的“沙场”。“沙场”也是一个大直径为87米，小直径为54米的椭圆。“沙场”下面是地下室，那里是演出竞技和角斗的后台，有更衣室，有武器库，有导演室，机械室，还有野兽的樊笼和陈尸的太平间。在地下室纵横交错的通道走廊上还有30多个凹进墙中的壁龛，那是安装升降机将角斗士和野兽运上“沙场”的地方。为了这一与埃及“金字塔”争奇斗艳丽炫耀自己的战绩战功的工程，罗马皇帝驱赶了约10万的俘虏和奴隶经过十多个春秋，修建了这座可容8万人的大角斗场，又名科洛西姆斗兽场。
斗兽场始建时是供娱乐用的剧场，公元249年为了庆祝罗马建城1000周年，曾在此场举行过盛大的庆祝活动。在斗兽场还举行过骑士比武表演和斗兽表演，水战表演，还有非常受欢迎的角斗士表演。
近两千年过去了，这座“斗兽场”与它附近的元老院大厦、凯撒大帝宫殿、尼禄皇帝宅邸、君士坦丁凯旋门成了世界旅游胜地，一年四季游人如云，每当人们来到这座古罗马象征的断垣残壁的。“斗兽场”，又仿佛听到了野兽的咆哮、角斗士的呐喊，又仿佛看到了刀光剑影，腥风血雨。
斗兽场数个世纪以来一直是罗马伟大与强盛的象征，今天，它仍是罗马文明与辉煌的证明！
The Colosseum is the most famous monumentmonument n.纪念碑 of Ancient Rome. Its original name is Flavian Amphitheatre. It was started by the Emperor Vespasian between 70 and 76 A.D.， and completed by his son Titus in 80 A.D.. The Colosseum was dedicated the year after Vespasian，s death by Titus. They celebrated the opening by holding 100 days worth of games there. It was built on the site where Nero had had a huge villa for himself. Vespasian wanted to build something for the people rather than for himself. It got its popular name， the Colosseum， because it was built near where Nero had erected a huge statue， or colossus of himself. It showed him as the god of the sun. It was 100 feet high， and it was the largest gilded bronze statue in antiquityantiquity n.古代， 古老， 古代的遗物. It was later moved away. It took 24 elephants to move it！