Watch Rome Rise, Fall, and Rise Again in a Three-Minute 3D Timelapse

Open Culture · Oct 23, 2026

Scholars disagree on when, exactly, Rome fell. But if you watch the new video from City 3D Timelapse above, you’ll understand the lack of debate on the question of whether it fell. Around the turn of the sixth century AD, buildings start vanishing at a rate that soon turns alarming; long before the end of the first millennium, it’s clear that Rome has been plunged into very hard times indeed. In the video’s accelerated visual history, that much-scrutinized 500-year span passes in a little more than five seconds. Just one minute later, it has spread not just beyond the old city limits, but…