Gerusalemme al Colosseo. Il dipinto ritrovato

The Colosseum, despite being the most famous monument in the world, never ceases to offer surprises to scholars and visitors. In this case the novelty stems from a period, the 17th century, which belongs to the more recent history of the amphitheater, an important yet still little known period. In August 2020 restoration work was completed on the unveiling of a mural over seven meters high and covering an area of fifteen square meters, on the fornix of the main west entrance arch (Porta Triumphalis), concealed for centuries beneath the patina of time. Now the painting glows beneath the colossal vaults of the ambulatory offering visitors an ideal map of the city of Jerusalem in the time of Christ. This work was known to experts but, from the summer of 2021, finally visitors to the Colosseum can also admire it.

The volume documents the results and researches arising from this complex operation. The essays are accompanied by a selection of close-up shots that reveal the colors, the outlines of the figures, the effects of shading and the articulation of the drawing, allowing the reader to admire details of the fresco impossible to grasp with the naked eye.

Of great interest is the introductory study devoted to the theme of the Christianization of the Colosseum and to the origins of the iconography of Jerusalem as an urban model of the ideal city.