With a capacity of 250000 seats, the Circus Maximus was undoubtedly the biggest of Rome and even of the Empire. In the foreground the carceres where one used to give the starting signal of the race that lasted 7 rounds of the running track. In the south-east a triumphal arch closed the track, the Arch of Vespasian and Titus, that appears at the top of the picture. . The second biggest circus in Rome was that of Caligula and Nero, built in the valley of Vatican. We can see here a reconstitution in a drawing.









The Circus Maximus took the whole length of the façade of the Palatine. A sight over the Circus Maximus from the other side.























The stand reserved for the Emperor and his family.









The Spina divided the running track in the length. This central platform was particularly cluttered up with altars, chapels, columns and even a palm tree. At each end, two “metæ”, conical stones around which the chariots had to turn. The most famous monument is the Obelisk of Augustus, right in the middle of the Spina. Today this obelisk is decorating the Piazza del Popolo in Rome. The temple in the rows of seats that appear in the foreground is the temple of the Sun and the Moon .




The carceres in a closer sight, as well as the temple of Mithras.