Colosseum, Rome, Italy Nov 12, 2025

Colosseum, Rome, Italy

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 amphitheater 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

Nov 12, 2018Honoring those who served
Nov 12, 2019Sleep tight, little hedgehog
Nov 12, 2020Upstate autumn
Nov 12, 2021Beavers Bend
Nov 12, 2022Alaska Bald Eagle Festival
Nov 12, 2023Diwali
Nov 12, 2024Arches National Park anniversary

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 12, 2019A story of wind and ice
Jul 13, 2023International Rock Day
Mar 10, 2023Vale of Edale, Peak District, England
Apr 21, 2018Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
Dec 4, 2020Protecting wildlife today and tomorrow
Aug 8, 2020It s ∞ Day!
Apr 12, 2018Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
Oct 17, 2019Red-leaf hunting in Japan
Aug 1, 2023National Mountain Climbing Day
Sep 18, 2019Celebrating Chile’s Independence Day
Apr 28, 2020Happy 800th, Salisbury Cathedral
Feb 4, 2023Rosa Parks Day
Feb 27, 2025International Polar Bear Day
Aug 31, 2018Let’s have a ball
Nov 21, 2021The Great Glen
Mar 25, 2021There was gold in them there hills…
Jan 30, 2018Watson Lake in Granite Dells, Arizona
Mar 6, 2020Hello, harbinger of spring
Mar 21, 2023International Day of Color
Feb 18, 2020Too awesome to be a planet
Jun 16, 2023World Sea Turtle Day
Oct 24, 2019Bridge of Hillsborough County
Feb 6, 2018Maritime forest on Cumberland Island, Georgia
Mar 26, 2023Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Sep 25, 2023Sea Otter Awareness Week
Dec 1, 2025Antarctica Day
Aug 23, 2023Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
Jan 28, 2024Channel Country, Australia
Jul 12, 2022Bay Marker Lookout, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia
May 26, 2019Racing toward history