This photo essay marks places that were once central to people’s existence that now crumble in their absence. These ruins seem haunted with past activities and occupations. However, they also glimmer with potential. The Coliseum was the sign of Roman culture—everything about it emblematized the power of speech, the primacy of the fight, the art of persuasion; then it fell into disuse, eventually even for a time serving as a garbage dump. Now, however, it stands for a new Roman culture—tourism, antiquities, romantic idealism of a Republic before it became an Empire. Each of these ruins below speaks to the potential for re-use. These places have become or are in the process of becoming, even if only thanks to the act of being photographed, a significant part of someone's, or something’s, existence again.  —Erik Sather