Ever since Christianity transformed the pagan world, impaling people at the Colosseum has taken a hiatus.
Until last week, that is.
In ancient times, if someone got impaled on a spike, the crowds would go crazy and cheer.
But at 5 p.m. on Friday, when the 47-year-old tourist (who has American citizenship but is a "resident of Taiwan") climbed the fence at the Piazza del Colosseo, impaled himself, screamed until he passed out, and nearly bled to death, the crowds had a different reaction:
Visitors looked on in horror, according to Italian news outlets.
‘It was terrible,' commented one tourist, an eyewitness of the tragedy. ‘I saw that man skewered on a railing, and he couldn't free himself on his own.'
The Colosseum was built in 72 AD and the last recorded gladiatorial contests took place in 435 AD under Emperor Valentinian III.
It took around 20 minutes to detach and stabilize the tourist, according to Il Messaggero.
Rescue crews arrived to pull the man from the spike, and he was rushed to the hospital and into surgery. 80 stitches later, and it sounds like he will live to see another tourist attraction.
That's a lot of value placed on one human life: Even a dumb, sinful one.
Yet another example of how Christ transformed Rome.
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