sight
What an extraordinary mosaic this room contains! A chariot race in the Circus Maximus in Rome. The view from the imperial tribune is magnificent. The Cybele statue towers over the marble-covered spina from behind; that viewpoint is only allowed to personalities close to the imperial court who are housed in the Pulvinar. The white marble steps are crowded with colours. The opening of the carceres with the horses, with their decorated manes, interrupts the silence of the wait before the start of the competition. Here are the wagons picking up speed with the four colours of the factions competing to complete seven laps. The victory is reported by the charioteer of the greens, who is greeted by a magistrate in a gilded contabulata toga, and by a tuba player.
hearing
The cries of the crowd urging the start of the competition became increasingly deafening, and to think that a few hours earlier, a supernatural silence reigned over the Circus Maximus. The horses huff inside the carceres, nervously scraping their hooves on the ground until the magistrate organising the games waves a white banner. From this moment on, the arena is pervaded by the deafening roar of the chariot wheels sprinkled with water by the sparsores, accompanied by the increasingly insistent cracking of the whips, until the sound of the tuba signals the end of the race.
smell
The tumultuous race of the quadrigas raises an immense amount of dust that seems to land on us just by looking at the scene. Right in front of us, the red faction’s wagon tips over but immediately resumes the race. From the bleachers, the smells and scents of the robes of the Romans watching the spectacle pervade the atmosphere, mingling with the acrid odour of horse sweat.
taste
Many spectators are depicted in the southern apse, and from their clothing we can tell they are all high-ranking people watching the race. Among them, we notice two men handing out bread on rectangular trays. Under its arches, the Circus Maximus concealed a very long portico full of shops and food on display. Usually the audience brought olives, cheeses and other foodstuffs to the steps and consumed them while attending the show.
