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Colosseum Echoes?
The short answer is that what you heard last week is nothing like the original sound. The velarium, the canvas awning that once covered the top, is gone, and that alone changed how sound behaved inside. More importantly, the arena floor (the hypogeum underneath) was excavated in the 1800s, so the flat surface that used to reflect sound back toward the seating is now an open pit. That single change killed most of the acoustic effect.
If you want to hear what Roman theater acoustics actually felt like, go to the Teatro di Marcello near the Campidoglio or better yet the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens if you ever get there. In Rome itself, the small theater at Ostia Antica is a decent day trip and the sound still carries surprisingly well from the stage to the top rows. The Colosseum was never really about acoustics anyway, it was about spectacle and crowd noise, so the loss is less dramatic than it sounds.
Honestly a lot of what people call the Colosseum's acoustics today is just the shape of the ruins doing the work. With two thirds of the outer wall gone, sound escapes instead of bouncing around like it used to, so you get this odd open air feel rather than the enclosed roar the crowd would've made. If you're curious about how it actually carried back then, the underground passages are worth a look, they had their own ventilation and sound dynamics that most tours skip over.
What are current tobacco prices for LM Blue or Chesterfield Blue?
tbh duty free at Riga is only worth it if you're buying cartons, single packs at the airport arent that much cheaper than teh tabaccai in Rome. also remember you can only bring a limited amount into the EU anyway so stockpiling has its limits
Chesterfield Blue usually runs around 5.50 to 6 euros a pack in Rome these days, though tabaccai prices are fixed by the state so it won't vary much shop to shop. Riga is generally cheaper for cigarettes but your layover time matters, if it's tight you might not have time to clear security and find a shop.
LM Blue in Rome is roughly the same ballpark, around 5.50 to 6 euros. One thing to keep in mind at Riga airport, the duty free selection isn't always great for specific brands like these, so if you're set on LM or Chesterfield you might strike out. I'd check what the actual duty free has before counting on it.