Rome and the Colosseum: Photography from the City That Keeps Going

The Colosseum is 2,000 years old and it is still the first thing most people want to see in Rome. It held 50,000 to 80,000 spectators. It hosted gladiatorial combat, animal hunts, and public executions for four centuries. Today it holds roughly six million tourists a year, which is its own kind of spectacle.

Getting a photograph of the Colosseum that does not look like a stock photo requires either patience or a different angle. The version that works on film is different from the version that works in sharp digital. The Colosseum Film and Colosseum Flower Film prints exist because analog photography does something to old stone that digital usually does not: the grain and color shift of film make a 2,000-year-old structure feel like it actually belongs to that era rather than to a camera roll from last Tuesday.

The Colosseum Flower Film print has wildflowers growing at the base of the structure in the foreground. Rome is full of wildflowers in spring. Most people step over them to get a cleaner shot. Keeping them in the frame was the decision that made that one different.

All four Colosseum prints are available in the Italy collection: acrylic, framed, and film versions. The framed prints start at $40. Free shipping on orders over $80.

Best time to photograph the Colosseum: early morning before 9am, or the hour before sunset. Midday light is flat and the crowds are at their worst.