The Circus Maximus (Latin: Circus Maximus) is considered the largest entertainment venue in the ancient world (600 meters long and 140 meters wide).
The first wooden structures used as a venue for chariot races date back to the time of the first Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus, in the first half of the 6th century BC.

Starting in 46 BC, Julius Caesar built a real brick circus. Romans came here to watch or participate in the games: demonstrations, executions, gladiatorial contests, and above all chariot races, during which slaves or prisoners circled the arena, fighting for their freedom. The winner of the race would be freed.

The Circus Maximus It was the scene of one of the most famous legendary events in all of Roman history: the Rape of the Sabine Women, the abduction of the women of the Sabine tribes by Romulus and the Romans, which later led to the fusion of the two peoples.

Devastated by fire several times, the Circus Maximus was almost entirely rebuilt under the Emperor Trajan, who erected a gigantic obelisk, later brought to Rome by Constantius II in 357 AD and now at the Lateran. The structures still visible today in the eastern hemicycle of the Circus Maximus date back to the time of Trajan. The tower in this area, however, is of medieval origin and belonged to the powerful Frangipane family. Also known as the Torre del Molino or della Moletta, it stood to defend a mill that exploited a watercourse, now disappeared, which passed through here and was called the Marrana.