When botanist Richard Deakin examined Rome’s Colosseum in the 1850s, he found 420 species of plant growing in the ruins: cypresses & ilex, pea plants & over 50 types of grass.
But some flowers growing there mystified him. They were so rare they were found nowhere else in Europe.
But some flowers growing there mystified him. They were so rare they were found nowhere else in Europe.
The mystery perplexed Deakin, until eventually he came up with a seemingly unlikely solution.
Deakin proposed that the plants had been brought as seeds on the fur of animals like lions & giraffes, brought from Africa to perform & fight in the arena.
Deakin proposed that the plants had been brought as seeds on the fur of animals like lions & giraffes, brought from Africa to perform & fight in the arena.
This incredible piece of conjecture is hard to prove, but it shows how flora growing among ruins can form a key part of their story.
Deakin opens his volume by calling the plants growing in the arena ‘a link in the memory’ that ‘flourish in triumph upon the ruins’.
Deakin opens his volume by calling the plants growing in the arena ‘a link in the memory’ that ‘flourish in triumph upon the ruins’.
By the time artists & painters began to turn their interest to the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colosseum had suffered a lot.
It had served as a quarry, a fortress, a bull ring & a place of worship. It had been struck by earthquakes 5 times.
It had served as a quarry, a fortress, a bull ring & a place of worship. It had been struck by earthquakes 5 times.
Due to the Christian martyrs once fed to the lions in the arena, it had also been a popular pilgrimage spot for centuries.
At the beginning of C18th, the Colosseum was officially consecrated & a hermitage was built on the stands, with stations of the cross around the outside.
At the beginning of C18th, the Colosseum was officially consecrated & a hermitage was built on the stands, with stations of the cross around the outside.
When the Italian scholar Bracciolini visited in 1430, he mourned over the site of the ruins:
“This spectacle of the world, how it is fallen! How changed! How defaced! The path of victory is obliterated by vines”
“This spectacle of the world, how it is fallen! How changed! How defaced! The path of victory is obliterated by vines”
Charles Dickens, in his 1848 Letters From Italy, talks about his impressions on first seeing the Colosseum, & mentions the plantlife there in particular detail, as a natural force reclaiming the site of past glory: 
In 1833, then-unknown Edgar Allen Poe (although he had never visited Italy) published a poem called The Coliseum, with the lines:
Here, where the dames of Rome their yellow hair
Wav’d to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle
Full poem: eapoe.org/works/poems/co…
Here, where the dames of Rome their yellow hair
Wav’d to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle
Full poem: eapoe.org/works/poems/co…
All this is to show that the ruins of the Colosseum were once verdant & overflowing with greenery.
Plantlife was so abundant there that at certain times, peasants had to pay for permission to collect the hay & herbs that grew among the ruins.
Plantlife was so abundant there that at certain times, peasants had to pay for permission to collect the hay & herbs that grew among the ruins.
Deakin observed that the Colosseum formed a perfect microclimate for biodiversity: dry & warm on its south side, cool & damp in the north.
Pink dianthus grew down in the galleries, while white anemones grew in the stands during Spring.
Pink dianthus grew down in the galleries, while white anemones grew in the stands during Spring.
French painters Francois-Marius Granet (left) & Jean-Antoine Constantin (right), who worked in Rome between 1777 and 1830, painted many pictures of the amphitheatre covered with greenery. 
William Leighton Leitch (1804 – l 1883) painted the Colosseum as a hanging garden reminiscent of Babylon.
Meanwhile Turner’s The Colosseum, Rome, by Moonlight (1819) shows an almost tropical garden growing in the arena’s shadows.
#RuinsInArt
Meanwhile Turner’s The Colosseum, Rome, by Moonlight (1819) shows an almost tropical garden growing in the arena’s shadows.
#RuinsInArt
My favourite paintings of the overgrown Colosseum are by Danish painter Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853).
He beautifully captures the abundant greenery growing in the Colosseum’s stands, as well as its lost history as a place of Christian worship.
#RuinsInArt
He beautifully captures the abundant greenery growing in the Colosseum’s stands, as well as its lost history as a place of Christian worship.
#RuinsInArt
All of this came to an end when, in 1871, Rome became the capital of the unified Kingdom of Italy. The new nation was to be modern, democratic & secular.
The clean-but-classical design of the The Altare della Patria or "wedding cake" monument in Rome shows their desired look.
The clean-but-classical design of the The Altare della Patria or "wedding cake" monument in Rome shows their desired look.
The new Italian government soon handed control of the Colosseum over to archaeologists, who set about removing the religious icons & clearing it of its greenery (this photo 1890).
The Colosseum's days as a wild & overgrown place came to a close.
The Colosseum's days as a wild & overgrown place came to a close.
Botanist & Countess Elisabetta Fiorini Mazzanti mourned the loss of the Colosseum’s flora:
“Nature liked to dress poetically the venerable walls by mitigating their sternness with the graceful ornament of plants and flowers… now archaeological cupidity has destroyed everything”
“Nature liked to dress poetically the venerable walls by mitigating their sternness with the graceful ornament of plants and flowers… now archaeological cupidity has destroyed everything”
Despite these early losses, the Colosseum is still a haven for plants.
A study between 1990-2000 found 243 distinct species still growing there, although this number is scarcely half what Deakin observed in the C19th.
A study between 1990-2000 found 243 distinct species still growing there, although this number is scarcely half what Deakin observed in the C19th.
Plants growing in the Colosseum include very rare species like Asphodelus Fistulosus (L) & Sedum Dasyphyllum (R), which are sheltered by the arena, a sanctuary from the urban environment outside.
But whether these came here on the pelts of lions, we may never know for sure.
But whether these came here on the pelts of lions, we may never know for sure.
This is another example of a ruin being used to construct & reinforce an identity. Certain parts of the ruin, the ancient stones & arches, are deemed “proper”.
Other parts, like the plantlife & the later historical stages of the ruin, are deemed “improper”, & are removed.
Other parts, like the plantlife & the later historical stages of the ruin, are deemed “improper”, & are removed.
As a researcher I'm divided. The ruin must be preserved, but on an emotional level I still feel this loss.
Can we undertake valuable conservation work & also keep the romance of old ruins, their use as inspiration for artists & the stories hidden in the layers of their history?
Can we undertake valuable conservation work & also keep the romance of old ruins, their use as inspiration for artists & the stories hidden in the layers of their history?
If you want to read more on the subject of the Colosseum's lost history & plantlife, you might start with this further reading:
Christopher Woodward, In Ruins: books.google.co.uk/books/about/In…
Richard Deakin, Flora of the Colosseum: archive.org/details/florac…
Christopher Woodward, In Ruins: books.google.co.uk/books/about/In…
Richard Deakin, Flora of the Colosseum: archive.org/details/florac…
Thanks for listening! As a bonus, here’s a picture someone took of a rebellious caper plant still growing on the Colosseum wall, in defiance of security… 
If you enjoyed this & you're interested in learning more about some of my research, I've collected some bits & pieces in this thread-of-threads. Happy reading!
