Pope Benedict XIV Inscription - Roma, Italy
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This sign of history in marble is erected on the outer wall at the eastern entrance of the Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, in Rome, Italy.
Waymark Code: WM10XCA
Location: Lazio, Italy
Date Posted: 07/05/2019
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Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Colosseum–officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater–with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.
Many of those who left their mark in the restoration of the Colosseum also advertised the fact with prominent inscriptions on its exterior walls.
Pope Benedict's inscription, for example, can be seen above the main east door. At the west entrance, Pope Pius IX placed a replica of Benedict's inscription in 1852, while adding a record of his own restoration.
Pope Benedict's inscription in latin:
"Amphitheatrum flavium
Triumphis spectaculisq insigne
Diis gentium impio cultu dicatum
Martyrum cruore ab impura superstitione
Expiatum
Ne fortitudinis eorum excideret memoria
Monumentum
A Clemente X P M
An jub MDCLXXV
Perietinis dealbatis depictum
Temporum injuria deletum
Benedictus XIV pont M
Marmoreum reddi curavit
An jub MDCCL pont X"
English translation:
"The Flavian Amphitheatre, known for its triumphs and performances dedicated to the gods of the Gentiles and to an impious cult, was redeemed from impure superstition by the blood of the martyrs. So that the memory of their courage will not be extinguished, the plaster monument erected on the walls by Clement X, Pontifex Maximus, in 1675 but erased by the injustice of time, was redone in marble by Benedict XIV, Pontifex Maximus, in 1750, the tenth year of his pontificate."
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