Colosseum, Rome, Italy Nov 12, 2025

Think modern sports are dramatic? Ancient Romans had front-row seats to spectacles far more intense inside the Colosseum. Commissioned by the Flavian emperor Vespasian in 72 CE and finished by his son Titus in 80 CE, this amphitheatre broke tradition with its predecessors that were built into hillsides for natural support. Instead, the Colosseum was a fully free-standing architectural giant, crafted from stone and concrete. Its arches and vaults supported an arena that could host up to 50,000 spectators. Gladiators, exotic animals and even staged sea battles thrilled the crowds, while hidden elevators and trapdoors created sudden, dramatic appearances.

© Nico De Pasquale Photography/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

A convocation of eagles assembles
Nov 12, 2023Diwali
Nov 12, 2024Vineyards in Varnhalt, Black Forest, Germany

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 25, 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
Nov 30, 2024Male white rhinoceroses, Lake Nakuru, Kenya
Sep 9, 2025A female Eurasian red squirrel, Switzerland
Aug 19, 2024Raksha Bandhan
Jul 9, 2025Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
Feb 13, 2025Lake Tyrrell, Victoria, Australia
Sep 23, 2023Autumnal equinox
A grand view
Apr 16, 2025Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States
Mar 8, 2025International Womens Day
Jan 10, 2026The Matterhorn reflected in Lake Stellisee at sunrise, Zermatt, Switzerland
Mar 5, 2026Evening over Göreme, Cappadocia, Türkiye
Oct 13, 2023Vieste, Apulia, Italy
Feb 29, 2024Leap Day
Aug 17, 2024Alfanzina lighthouse, Algarve, Portugal
May 8, 2024Marseille welcomes to Olympic torch
Dec 24, 2023Christmas Eve
Jan 5, 2024International Ice and Snow Festival, Harbin, China
Jan 30, 2024Martyrs’ Day
Nov 18, 2024Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales, United Kingdom
Jun 19, 2025Masai giraffe mother grooming her calf in the Serengeti, Tanzania
Like sands through the hourglass
Aug 28, 2024Paralympic Games begin in Paris
A ghost on the mountain
Feb 25, 2026Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, United States
See-through cephalopod
Jan 24, 2025Strokkur geyser in Iceland
This snow will never melt
Chilling out on an ice floe
Nov 21, 2023Grey seal pup