Roman Amphitheatre of Arezzo: A Hadrianic Roman Arena in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Classical
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Entertainment
- Remains
- Amphitheatre
On this page8 sections
History
The Roman Amphitheatre of Arezzo is an archaeological site in Italy, built by the Romans for the ancient settlement of Arretium between the closing years of the first century and the opening years of the second century AD. More precisely, its construction belongs to the Hadrianic period, the years of Emperor Hadrian’s rule from AD 117 to 138. The amphitheatre stood in the southern part of the walled city and provided a large venue for public spectacles.
Roman construction
The building formed part of Roman Arretium during a period when permanent amphitheatres were being constructed as major public facilities. Its elliptical plan, substantial masonry, tiered seating, entrances, passageways, and underground spaces were designed to manage crowds around a central arena. The scale of the completed structure indicates the importance of organized public entertainment within the ancient city.
Damage, reuse, and later history
Over the centuries, the amphitheatre suffered severe damage and was repeatedly quarried for stone and other building materials. Some of its fabric was reused in religious buildings. In the sixteenth century, the Monastery of San Bernardo was constructed beside the southern semicircle. The former monastery now houses the archaeological museum next to the amphitheatre, linking the surviving monument with the interpretation of its ancient remains.
Exploration of the amphitheatre began in 1914 and 1915, but the work was interrupted by the war. Excavations resumed in 1926. Restoration campaigns carried out periodically from 1950 onward brought the monument fully to light. The site is now used as an open-air theatre, giving the remains a continuing public function.
Remains
Layout and circulation
The amphitheatre has an elliptical plan, approximately 121 metres along its major axis and 68 metres along its minor axis. Its reconstructed arena measures about 71.9 by 42.7 metres, enclosed by a masonry band roughly 24.7 metres thick. The surviving site includes the foundation platform and parts of the circulation system around the arena. Two concentric covered corridors formed the principal ambulatory system, while a third ring probably defined the outer boundary.
Arena and covered corridors
The arena was surrounded by passageways that organized movement around the performance space. An ambulatory is a circulation corridor around an arena, while the covered corridors at Arezzo formed concentric routes within the thick masonry structure. Supporting bands between the rings were regularly interrupted by vomitoria, underground chambers, and stairways. Vomitoria were passageways that allowed spectators to enter and leave the seating levels.
Entrances and seating supports
Two principal entrances remain identifiable at the ends of the longitudinal axis, with two secondary entrances on the transverse axis. The seating, or cavea, occupied two tiers. Although the seating steps themselves are no longer preserved, the original slope can be inferred from limited remains at ground level. Substantial supporting construction survives, including vaulted vomitoria and stairways leading to the middle seating tier. Some of the vaulted passages were partly incorporated into the monastery.
Materials and construction
The amphitheatre was constructed from sandstone blocks, brick, and marble. The vaults of the annular corridors used opus caementicium, Roman concrete made from mortar and stone aggregate. Wall surfaces combined opus reticulatum, a facing of small blocks laid in long diagonal rows, with opus vittatum, horizontal courses of rectangular tuff blocks alternating with brick surfaces. The internal stairways were made of travertine, and the exterior was probably faced with local sandstone.
The structure probably accommodated between 8,000 and 10,000 spectators. Its surviving foundations, entrances, vaulted passageways, stairways, and masonry surfaces preserve the organization of a Roman amphitheatre even where the original seating and upper elements have not survived. Together, these remains show how the building combined a large arena with a carefully planned system for supporting and circulating its audience.
