Wender·Vista
Circus Maximus
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
in the valley between the Aventine and the Palatine

Circus Maximus

— — a stadium gone back to grass.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A long oval of open ground in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine. For more than a thousand years this was the largest chariot-racing venue in the ancient world. Today it is a public park: a green ellipse held in the same shape, with the curved end excavated, the obelisks moved to other piazzas, and the Forum just beyond the trees. Late light catches the cypress on the slope.

from the studio
Circus Maximus
— bring it home

Circus Maximus, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Circus Maximus

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, just south of the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum. The track ran roughly 621 metres long and 118 metres across at its widest, the largest sporting venue in the Roman world. Livy credits the first laid-out track to King Tarquinius Priscus in the sixth century BCE; the marble seating took shape under Julius Caesar and was rebuilt by Trajan in 103 CE. Estimates of seated capacity range from 150,000 to a quarter of a million, drawing on Pliny and the Regionary Catalogues.

— the stone

Most of the marble is gone. After the last games held by Totila in 549 CE, the seating tiers were quarried for nearly a millennium of building elsewhere in Rome. The eastern curved end, the sphendone, still shows the brick foundations of the Severan rebuilding and the imperial box on the Palatine side. The two obelisks that once stood on the central spina now mark other piazzas: the Flaminio obelisk of Ramses II in Piazza del Popolo, and the Lateran obelisk of Thutmose III at San Giovanni in Laterano.

— the visit

The site is a free, open public park with no ticket and no gate, accessible at all hours. The Metro stop Circo Massimo on Line B sits at the north-west corner; the Colosseum is a ten-minute walk north. A small ticketed archaeological area at the eastern curve, the Circo Massimo Experience, offers an augmented-reality reconstruction of the original stadium for about twelve euros. The grass holds large summer concerts and the closing rally of the Rome Marathon. Early morning and the hour before sunset are the best times for the long view.

— informed by Circo Massimo Experience
— where
Italy · Rome, Lazio
— elevation
17 m · 56 ft
— position
41.8859° N · 12.4853° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
0.1 km N
Palatine Hill
hill
0.7 km NE
Colosseum
amphitheatre
0.2 km S
Aventine Hill
hill
0.6 km N
Roman Forum
ruins
0.5 km SE
Baths of Caracalla
ruins
1.2 km N
Piazza Venezia
square
N
Circus Maximus
Palatine Hill
Colosseum
Aventine Hill
Roman Forum
Baths of Caracalla
Piazza Venezia
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Circus Maximus — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The track measured roughly 621 metres long by 118 metres across, the largest sporting venue ever built in the Roman world. Ancient sources put seated capacity between 150,000 and 250,000 spectators.

The last recorded games were held by the Ostrogothic king Totila in 549 CE, more than a thousand years after the venue was first laid out under Tarquinius Priscus in the sixth century BCE.

The dividing barrier carried fountains, statues, lap counters in the shape of eggs and dolphins, and two Egyptian obelisks: one of Ramses II raised by Augustus and one of Thutmose III raised by Constantius II.

Yes. The site is a free public park, open at all hours, with no fence around the main valley. A small ticketed archaeological zone at the eastern curve shows the surviving brickwork and an augmented-reality reconstruction.

The Circo Massimo Metro station on Line B exits onto the north-west corner of the site. The Colosseum and Palatine are within a ten-minute walk to the north.

The brick foundations of the curved eastern end, the carceres at the western straight, and the lower seating tiers on the Aventine side survive in outline. Most of the marble was quarried during the medieval period.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers with time in Rome and for classicists. The Circus carries weight no other Roman ruin quite holds. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note travels well.

The umber, ochre, and pine-green of the artwork sit well with Italian Traditional, warm Minimalist, and library-toned studies. The piece reads quietly against deep walls or natural plaster.

Yes. The earth-tone palette aligns with the Roman-modern and warm-stone direction designers are working in now. The Circus subject carries a depth a newer landscape print cannot.

A single Large reads from across the room above a standard sofa. A four-tile Mural carries the long oval across a wider wall; a nine-tile Mural anchors a long study or office.

Yes. Choose Dura Satin or Matte for any installation that will see steam or splash. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and does not lift with cleaning.

A dry or slightly damp microfibre cloth handles everyday dust. For kitchen use, plain water on a soft cloth is enough. Avoid abrasive pads and citrus cleaners.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in our own visual language by the studio, with no licensed imagery. Reid Wender curates each place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada