To an untrained eye the Circus of Maxentius just looks like a vast green pasture where locals jog or take their dogs for a walk, but in ancient times this oblong ground was, as its name indicates, Rome’s most famous and by far oldest circus.The Circus of Maxentius was an arena for various kinds of sports and athletic competitions, although it gained fame mainly for its chariot races which often lasted from the early morning to dusk, with as many as one hundred held a day.It could hold up to between two hundred and fifty thousand and three hundred thousand spectators either seated or standingRecent excavation has brought to light relics which help to give us a better idea of what the circus used to look like with its countless shops, stalls and taverns flanking the track area.