Vendors scale Colosseum in protest

ROME (Reuters) - Forget tired tales about lions and gladiators. A modern-day battle between souvenir hawkers and Rome's mayor has gripped tourists at the Colosseum.

A pair of unlicensed street vendors climbed to the second storey of the 2,000-year-old arena on Monday to protest against city plans to bar them from selling watercolour prints there, witnesses said.

The protestors say they will hold their ground until Mayor Walter Veltroni gives them permits to sell their wares legally.

Fire brigades dragged a giant inflatable crash-mat outside the arena where early Christians were put to death and Romans staged battle games.

"Veltroni, help us work, not die," read a banner hung by the protesters around 10 metres (33 feet) above the ground. Another complained about "promises made, but never kept."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=856&ncid=856&e=2&u=/nm/20041206/od_uk_nm/oukoe_italy_colosseum

Actually there's no evidence that Christians were put to death in the colosseum. Other arenas I don't know, but at the colosseum, no.