Anfiteatro romano di Lecce

Located in the heart of Lecce, in Piazza St. Oronzo, and discovered in the early 20th century after the radical remodelling of the centre of Lecce, the Roman Amphitheatre bears witness to the degree of importance achieved by the ancient city of Lupiae during the Roman Empire. About a third of the original structure is now visible, showing part of the arena and cavea, while the remaining portion is hidden below the surrounding square and the buildings facing it. The archaeological excavations, started in 1900 by the archaeologist Cosimo De Giorgi and continued until 1940, have allowed the city to reclaim the part of the Amphitheatre visible today. On February 1st 1906, the day after its rediscovery, the Amphitheatre was registered in the list of Italian buildings declared as National Monuments.The precise dating of the structure, used for gladiatorial combat and live hunting displays, is still debated today, but the most accredited hypothesis dates the original structure to the age of Augustus. Later restorations and improvements, including the building of the portico in summa cavea, would have been carried out during the reign of Hadrian. The elliptical building, measuring a total of 102 x 82 metres, was able to accommodate between 12,000 and 14,000 people. The structure is partly built in square blocks and cement, and partly excavated to fully exploit the mass of Lecce stone beneath to support the stepped seating, thus creating the arena, the lower ambulatory and the radial tunnels. The structure’s ground plan was divided into four sectors marked by four entrances that corresponded with the four main axes. At the level of the media cavea, access leads to the various sectors through a system of connecting stairs. The outer wall originally consisted of 68 arches, of which 24 pillars remain. The perimeter gallery on the second floor was probably surmounted by a portico, attributable to the Hadrianic phase, which is assumed to be the origin of various fragments of architectural decoration in Pentelic marble found in the coverings. The podium must also have been covered with marble slabs, while a continuous relief with venationes (hunting scenes) ran along the balteus, the parapet of the arena.The lower ambulatory contains the marble elements that constituted the crowning elements of the balteus with hunting scenes, fights between animals and combats scenes between bestiarii (beast fighters) and animals.