The Roman Amphitheatre


The Roman Amphitheatre is the largest monument from the Roman Empire in Sardinia. It has an elliptical shape and was dug into the rock-face of the hillside, with a capacity to hold 10,000 spectators.

The Roman Amphitheatre stands below the Viale Buoncammino boulevard, in an area of considerable archaeological importance, which stretches as far as the Botanical Gardens and Villa di Tigellio.
It was built between the I and II century A.D..
The tiers of seats are arranged around the central area on three different levels and were reserved for the various social classes of the epoch. The underground galleries, which still exist today, were connected by a cistern which was used to fill the arena with water for naval contests.

The entertainment which took place at the amphitheatre was mainly constituted by contests to the death between gladiators or between gladiators and ferocious animals.
However, the arena was also used as a stage for theatre productions.
Today the Roman Amphitheatre is still used to host events during the opera and theatre seasons, as well as being an extraordinary backdrop for fashion shows.