Colosseum

This image is an engraving titled “Veduta dell’Anfiteatro Flavio detto il Colosseo” (View of the Flavian Amphitheater, called the Colosseum), made by the Italian architect and engraver Luigi Rossini in 1821. Rossini was one of the most important heirs to the style of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, dedicating himself to documenting the antiquities of Rome with great technical precision and a dramatic look at the ruins.

The engraving presents a detailed external view of the Colosseum, highlighting its three orders of arcades and the upper attic, as well as showing the state of conservation of the monument at the beginning of the 19th century, before the major modern restorations.

The Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheatre, is the largest amphitheater ever built. Its construction began under Emperor Vespasian between 70 and 71 AD and was completed by his successors of the Flavian dynasty, Titus and Domitian. The name “Colosseum” became popular in the Middle Ages due to the proximity of a colossal statue of Nero that existed on the site.

Note: Interestingly, although Rossini did the architecture, the small human figures that give scale to the scene were often added by Bartolomeo Pinelli, a famous illustrator of the time.