One of the most impressive monuments surviving from the Roman Empire, the Colosseum is the largest of all the Roman amphitheatres. Its elliptical form covers a surface of 188 metres by 156 metres on its major axes. It was built for the Flavian emperors on a site previously occupied by a private like adjoining the luxurious palace-villa of Nero.

Entirely clad in travertine blocks, it filled a nodal position at the intersection of the Imperial Forum and the Sacred Way. The Colosseum was the prime venue for gladiatorial contests and venations and it could accommodate around 70,000 people.

The outer façade is arranged on four levels, and presents the canonical arrangement of the Classical orders; the first three levels are formed by arcades framed by half-columns from the Doric ground floor, through the Ionic and Corinthian, and terminated with the flat surface of the attic story with its Composite pilasters.