10276 Colosseum, the largest ever LEGO set, represents more than just a piece of architectural history – it reveals how Roman society operated
The Colosseum is an architectural marvel. That it is build in the shape that it is, that it is at the scale that it is and that the columns are as intricately detailed as they are reveals a lot about what Roman engineers and architects were capable of. It’s reason enough for 10276 Colosseum to be designed as the largest ever LEGO set.
‘I wanted to capture the Roman orders of the columns that you can see on the existing façade. That is the Doric order on the bottom, Ionic with the volutes on the middle and the Corinthian with the flowers on the top. They represent three distinctive styles of the antique architecture that Greeks started with and Romans have expanded built upon,’ says LEGO Senior Design Specialist Rok Zgalin Kobe when showing off the set’s features.
What is perhaps even more interesting than its impressive architecture is what it tells us about Roman society. By looking at details in the Colosseum’s shape and structure, such as where the entrances are, how the audience accesses their seats and where the Emperor’s box is, we can understand a great deal about how the Romans lived.
It’s much easier to get that understanding with the help of an expert though, which is why Blocks magazine Issue 76 sees us taking 10276 Colosseum to the University of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. There, the model goes on display as Dr Milena Melfi explains what we can understand about Roman society from this incredible piece of history that still stands in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
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