Plan broad, magnificent ancient College Gyms formed over the idea of `the Greeks, and Thermal de` Romani 

Giovanni Battista Piranesi created "Plan broad, magnificent ancient College Gyms formed over the idea of `the Greeks, and Thermal de` Romani," an etching that marries the grandeur of ancient architectural forms with the intellectual ambition of the Enlightenment. Piranesi, working in 18th-century Rome, was deeply influenced by the archaeological discoveries and the renewed interest in classical antiquity. His vision of a college gym, inspired by Greek and Roman baths, reflects a longing for an idealised past but it is also very much of his time. In this historical moment, the physical body became an explicit site of cultural inscription, and these “gyms” are the place for its forging. As social spaces they become integral to the formation of masculinity. Piranesi's detailed rendering invites us to consider how spaces shape bodies and behaviors. Do these plans invite you to consider the echoes of empire and the ongoing project of defining and refining the human form?