Circus Maximus

The Circus Maximus is situated in the valley between the Palatino and the Aventino and is an antique circus for the games announced by Romolo so as to honour the God Consus, and it is where the legendary Ratto delle Sabine (Rape of the Sabine Women) episode took place.

The first construction was in wood and was then substituted by the cement structure in the 2nd century a.C., idealised by Gaio Giulio Cesare.

The circus was restructured many times due to numerous fires. The circus could host 150,000 spectators as it was 118 metres wide and 621 metres long. The arena was used for chariot racing. The chariots had to run seven times around the central spine which was enriched by statues, kiosks, and small temples. So as to count the number of times run around the central spine, seven eggs and seven dolphins from which water spurted were used.

In the 1900's the circus was covered by various other buildings, hence at the beginning of the twentieth century, work began to free it.