The history of stadia
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Stadia, the icons of sporting design, are set to backdrop a summer of sport at the London 2012 Olympics.
Source: Sir John Soane Museum
Soane Office, Royal Academy lecture Drawing, Plan of the Colosseum, Rome
A new exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum in London looks at the history of stadia, from ancient structures such as Rome’s Colosseum to the state-of-the-art venues in east London.
Early artefacts on show will include an amphora showing an ancient Greek armour race, and a large bronze goose that adorned the Hippodrome at Constantinople.
Also going on display will be Codex Corner, a Renaissance manuscript owned by Soane, which is the earliest archaeological correct record of the Colosseum and was regularly consulted by Michelangelo.
Moving into the present day, the exhibition will host a highly detailed model of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, designed by Populous.
Stadia runs at Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A, until 22 September.
