Commissioned by Emperor Vespasian (72 to 80). Flavian Amphitheatre [marble, metal and concrete]. Rome.

"Have you ever seen anything like that before? I did not know men could build such things." Juba, fictional character portrayed by Djimon Hounsou from the 2000 film Gladiator.

When the Flavian Amphitheatre was completed, it was the single-largest arena in Europe and another of a long list of justifications to the Roman way of thinking that Rome was the center of the world. It would’ve had an undeniable impact on the skyline, noise and traffic in the city. As a work extolling the might of the nation-state, its significance is multilayered. To the Roman psyche, it served as a reaction against the infamous emperor Nero, who had been developing a private pleasure palace on the site upon his assassination in 68. To demonstrate his affinity for the people as an emperor for the people, Vespasian chose this site once reserved to massage the narcissism of his predecessor to build the cities’ greatest civic arena.

The Colosseum also references the tolerant spirit of the Roman manner of conduct and the culture’s insistence on integrating rather than stamping out alternate perspectives even while it brutally subjugated them. The architectural orders are Tuscan (referencing Etruscan civilization), Ionic and Corinthian (Greek) from bottom-to-top, with Corinthian pilasters on the attic, representing the adaptation of the innovations of peer-cultures to their architecture.

It was designed with ease of movement to be the foremost consideration. It is entered through 56 vaults spanning its entire diameter and upon completion was capable of housing 55,000 (some sources say 70,000) spectators. Once inside, space is maximized with simple and predictable barrel vaults leading to and away from the aisles. The entrance arcades are repeated on the next two floors, creating a pleasing and rhythmic pattern of solid versus empty space and terminal values, exemplifying order and the Roman mastery of construction.

There are at least two amazing achievements of the Flavian Amphitheatre mentioned here. First, the Romans accomplished its construction with machinery no more complicated than man-sized pulley systems, overwhelmingly through sheer man power, although it is widely believed unwilling. Second, it accomplishes its primary goal of providing thousands of spectators an uninterrupted and comfortable view of the arena floor by using space to maximum effect. At the same time, it provides ease of access and a visually pleasing appearance that extols order and communicates the values the Empire purported to hold dear.