Picture of Jerusalem in the Colosseum

How did a Christian painting end up in a pagan amphitheatre in Rome?

Greetings Gold and Silver Level Templar knights! In recent years, a Christian painting has been restored at the Colosseum. Most visitors don’t even notice it. A representation of Jerusalem in this arena of death. Why is it there?

Take a close look at this painting. It’s above an arch leading into the Colosseum. The arena dates to the first century after Christ and was built by the emperors Vespasian and Titus. This painting is from the 17th century - hundreds of years later - and shows a street plan of old Jerusalem with Jesus and the two thieves crucified in the bottom left hand corner.

It attempts to portray the Jewish temple of Solomon as it would have existed at the time of Jesus. Obviously details were not known - so this is the artist’s guesswork. You can see that top right though much of it has been sadly obliterated over time.

What this shows us is how the Colosseum was used for Christian worship over a very long period of time. It was viewed as the site of Christian martyrdom so revered. Though it was also pillaged by successive popes and many of the Colosseum’s stones ended up in the fabric of St Peter’s Basilica.