50,000 seats, 80 numbered gates, lion elevators: the machine of empire.
The story
1 min readThe Flavian Amphitheatre, AD 80, built on the drained lake of Nero's private palace: stolen land returned to public pleasure, the best PR move in Roman history.
For the engineers: 80 numbered arches fed a ticketed seating system that emptied the building in minutes (your stadium's vomitoria descend from it); a sail-rigged retractable roof worked by navy sailors; and under the floor, the hypogeum's 28 capstan lifts delivered animals on cue.
The missing south side fell in a 1349 earthquake and was quarried for palazzi and St. Peter's. Your ticket includes the Forum and Palatine within 24 h.
The shot
Exterior from the northeast at 9 AM, low sun in the arches; from the upper tier, frame the Arch of Constantine.