Roman Amphitheatre of Milan
About
Mediolanum's amphitheatre rose in the Flavian era, construction spanning roughly the second half of the 1st century CE, and reached 150 by 120 meters, third largest in Roman Italy after the Colosseum and Capua. Gladiator bouts and animal hunts filled the arena for over three centuries. Built outside the city walls, it later became a defensible position for attackers and was torn down for stone in the chaos of the 5th century. Excavations that began in 1931 uncovered its outer wall under Via Conca del Naviglio.
What happened here
Doors open early and the programme runs all day. Morning is animal hunts, staged with scenery hauled up through trapdoors from the corridors below. Midday is executions, and it is the hour when the seats thin out and people go for lunch. The afternoon is the gladiators, matched by type and record like boxers, refereed, and stopped when a man raises a finger. Most fights are not to the death — a trained fighter is expensive — but a decision can go the other way and the crowd is consulted. Seating is strictly by rank: officials at the front, women at the top. Awnings are worked by sailors detailed for the job. Sand is spread thick and replaced between shows, and the whole building smells of it.
Sources
Nearby
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