Amphitheaters #1of2

At the last count we have visited Roman amphitheaters in Trier, Germany; Pula, Yugoslavia; in Paris, Périgueux, Arles, Nimes, and Fréjus in France; and Lecce, Lucca, Siracusa, Verona, Rome, Pouzzoles, Spoleto, and Pompeii in Italy. According to maps we have studied after the fact, we have been in other cities where we didn’t know one existed.

The Colosseum in Rome is the best known, and perhaps has the most structure still standing above ground. To supply the travertine that covered the exterior walls of the structure, a special 20-foot-wide road was built from the Colosseum to a quarry near Tivoli, a town about 20 miles east of Rome. Then in the early-1500s, the travertine marble that covered the Coliseum’s walls was itself “quarried,” and 2,522 cartloads of marble were used to complete St. Peter's Basilica. Uncounted Romans live, work, and worship in buildings constructed with blocks of stone and slabs of marble, from the “Coliseum Quarry.”

In Pouzzoles we could look down into the basement of the Amphitheater where they kept the wild animals, and in Trier the subterranean passageway under the main arena floor was accessible by a flight of stairs.

Built in the 200s AD to hold 20,000 spectators, by the 1400s the Amphitheater in Périgueux had been turned into a quarry, its stones used to build many buildings nearby. They have filled the elliptical playing field half-way to the top of the arena, created a beautiful park, only the tops of several arches remain.

In Lucca, there is a plaza the size and shape of an amphitheater, but instead of seats, it’s surrounded with apartment buildings. The TV aerials ensure the residents can still watch the circus and other forms of entertainment, just like the spectators who encircled Lucca’s amphitheater of old. On the first floor are restaurants (“Spartacus”) with tables and chairs in the “playing field,” and boutiques (“Mary Poppins”).

It’s interesting to note that Pompeii’s amphitheater is perhaps the most complete structure of its type to have survived the ages. Since it was buried below the ash of Vesuvius, it did not suffer the destructive power of wind and rain, and stones could not be quarried and stolen for other building projects, as happened everywhere else.

In Pula we saw one of the most intriguing old Roman Amphitheaters. Much of the outer wall remains, several stories high. The setting is right near the water, and on the playing field there is a stage where they present classic plays.

It’s a surprise to be walking through the city center of Lecce, then suddenly see the remains of the ancient amphitheater, right at our feet, a few ranks of seats, all below street level.