"replaced by dwellings rented out by the congregation of Saint-Guy." In the 12th century, a watercourse was dug there to drain the soil, and by the 16th century the area was used as a market garden. During the renaissance, the site was one of many used as a convenient quarry for good quality building stone. Many of the Circus's standing structures survived these changes; in 1587, two obelisks were removed from the central barrier by Pope Sixtus V, and one of these was re-sited at the Piazza del Popolo. In 1852 a gas works was built on the site by the Anglo-Italian Gas Society. It remained in situ until 1910 when it was relocated to the edge of Rome. Mid 19th century workings at the circus site uncovered the lower parts of a seating tier and outer portico. Since then, a series of excavations has exposed further sections of the seating, curved turn and central barrier but further exploration has been limited by the scale, depth and waterlogging of the site. The Circus site now functions as a large park area, in the centre of the city. It is often used for concerts and meetings. On 2 July 2005, the Rome concert of Live 8 was held there. On 14 July 2007, the British rock band Genesis performed a concert before an estimated audience of 500,000 people. This concert was filmed and released on a DVD called When in Rome 2007. The Rolling Stones played there in front of 71,527 people on June 22, 2014 for the Italian date of their 14 On Fire tour. The Circus has also hosted victory celebrations, following the Italian World Cup 2006 victory and the A.S. Roma Serie A victory in 1983 and 2001. In May 2019, a new virtual/augmented reality experience, the Circo Maximo Experience, opened on the site, taking visitors on a journey through the site and its history. See also Amphitheatre Forma Urbis Romae List of closed stadia by capacity Hippodrome of Constantinople List of ancient monuments in Rome References Works cited External links Virtual 3D reconstruction of the Roman Forum – www.italyrome.info James Grout: Circus Maximus, part of the Encyclopædia Romana High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images of Circus Maximus | Art Atlas Ancient Roman circuses in Rome Roman archaeology Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Rome R. XII Ripa