JUNE 2005 – Tourists walk along Via Sacra in the historical town center of Rome, Italy. This was the first paved road, built around 600 BC and leads through the Arco di Settimio Severo (the Arch of Septimus Severus). The arch was a gift for emperor Septimus Severus who beat the Parths, resulting in two decades of peace to the people. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Rome is called “The Eternal City” for a reason. Its historical town center is full of ancient wonders. Probably one of the most impressing areas is The Roman Forum, situated in the valley between the Capitol Hills and the Palatine Hills. It was the center of the ancient world, its commerical, cultural, political and religious center. Here you can find the first paved road, built around 600 BC. It leads through the Arco di Settimio Severo (the Arch of Septimus Severus), a gift for emperor Septimus Severus who beat the Parths, resulting in two decades of peace to the people. Emperors and merchants added huge villas over time, potentially turning the place into an impressive, maybe overloaded, town center.
Eight years later, in 80 AD, the theater was inaugurated by Titus with games and shows that lasted 100 days and nights. During that time numerous gladiators and about 5,000 wild animals lost their lives in the giant theater, seating between 50,000 and 80,000 visitors and the biggest theater of the Roman Empire. With its height of about 50 meters (164 feet) it is still an impressive building today.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | June 2005 |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Camera | Canon AE-1 Program |
| Image Source | Fuji Slide Film |
| Digital Image Source | Minolta Dimage Scan Elite II |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, AdobeRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 2434 x 3641 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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