After the previous View of the Flavian Amphitheatre, called the Colosseum, which depicts an exterior view of the unmistakable monument, this second etching reveals its interior. It is well known that, from the Middle Ages on, the Colosseum had become a kind of quarry from which marble, stone, and other building materials were plundered for the construction of new churches and palaces. If in the exterior view Piranesi depicts the most well-preserved part of the ellipse, the monumental backdrop for parades and processions in modern Rome, in this second view he reflects on the destiny of ancient remains and emphasizes the decay wrought by human plunder and the passage of time on this magnificent building.  
  
Piranesi chooses the longitudinal view of the main ellipse’s axis in order to give an overview of the other side of the north façade. In this way, he is able to show, on the left, the once covered circular corridor (B) that surrounded the arena (A). This perspective puts the crumbling remains of an impressive archway in the foreground, dramatically rendered in its massive proportions by intense effects of chiaroscuro, as the building is illuminated by the bright morning light rising from east. To reach these deep black shades, Piranesi retouched the etched copperplate with various lines engraved with the use of burin. The imposing archway looms over the entire image, as it is cut off by the upper edge of the frame. There is space, though, on the right, for the perspective view to continue beyond the archway of the Porta Libitinaria, located on the east side of the amphitheater and opening through the Forum, thus giving further depth to the scene. This effect is due to the different lightness (and therefore brightness) of the etched lines and the different scale used for the composition elements. Additionally, the figures, standing in the foreground or, following the diagonal axis of the arena, moving towards the porta, enhance the dramatic effect and sense of spatial depth created by this veduta.  
  
If the previous image emphasizes and exaggerates what remains of the façade, in this image, annotations call attention to alteration. In the key, Piranesi gives information about both the building’s original inner structures such as walls and stairs (D, E, and F) and the later additions of “Cappellette, Chiesa, e muri moderni” (G) occupying the arena. This final annotation (G) condenses three centuries of Christian conversion and use: in 1517 the small church of Santa Maria della Pietà was built by the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone together with the adjoining house of a hermit who was the guardian of the site. On the occasion of the 1675 Jubilee, the arena was officially Christianised by papal decree, and, in the eighteenth century, it was used as one of the Stations of the Cross during Easter celebrations. The minimal verbal indication of that modern history is almost overwhelmed by the dominant elements of the original, ancient building. 

Almost ten years after the creation of this etching (circa 1766), working on the Vedute di Roma, Piranesi produced the Interior View of the Colosseum. This time, he enlarged the view to include the entire wall structure; the building, seen from another vantage point, appears infested by vegetation and populated by all sorts of figures and animals (goats and cows, which refer to the nearby Forum or “Campo Vaccino,” or, literally, “cow pasture”) but, at the same time, its aspect seems to be even more that of a hollow, plundered ruin, melancholically evoking its lost grandness. What he evokes visually and silently in that unannotated veduta he implies through the textual details and visual design of this smaller view. (CS)