Controversies surrounding the construction date In the absence of written sources regarding the amphitheatre’s construction, historical proposals for when it was built range from the 1st to the 3rd century. Historian
Pirro Marconi suggested a date between the second and third decades of the 1st century—spanning the late
Augustan and early
Tiberian periods—while more recently, Luigi Beschi leaned toward the mid-1st century. To more accurately date the Arena, scholars have compared it to the
amphitheatre of Pula, which shares similarities with Verona's in both stylistic and technical aspects. Both belong to a common geographical and cultural region, and some historians have hypothesized that they may have been designed by the same architect and constructed by the same workforce. This helmet style emerged at the end of the Augustan era, around 10–20 AD. This narrows the construction window to the late reign of
Augustus and the early reign of
Claudius. Given that statues were typically crafted at the end of a building’s construction, Pirro Marconi inferred that the Arena was completed by approximately 30 AD. The amphitheatre were part of the monumentalization projects in Verona during the
Julio-Claudian era, which also included the Forum of Verona and the embellishment of the city’s gateways. Both the Verona and Pula amphitheatres predate the construction of the Colosseum, representing new developments in the evolution of this architectural form. In 1874, Antonio Pompei conducted excavations around the Arena, uncovering the foundations of the
Gallienus walls, which ran 5 meters from the amphitheatre. It was discovered that these walls intersected the rainwater drainage channels, though the Arena remained usable for spectacles thanks to an alternative solution: a large central well, identified in the 18th century. However, the drainage system became less efficient, marking the beginning of the amphitheatre’s decline. Though unconfirmed, it is possible that the amphitheatre was used for the martyrdom of
Christians. The Marquis
Scipione Maffei speculated that
Firmus and Rusticus were martyred here in 304, on the same occasion that
Bishop Proculus asked to be martyred, but was instead mocked and sent away because he was old. by
Constantine I’s troops, from the Constantinian frieze on the south side of the
Arch of Constantine in
Rome. The relief on the right shows the
walls enclosing the Arena, though the Arena itself is not visible. In 312, Verona played role in the war between
Constantine and
Maxentius, when the latter barricaded himself in the city, and Constantine’s forces laid siege. The assault focused on the amphitheatre, which served as a bastion for the defenders due to its height surpassing the
Gallienus walls. Two critical clashes of that campaign occurred in front of the Arena: the sortie by the besieged, enabling
Ruricius Pompeianus to seek reinforcements, and the nocturnal battle, where Constantine faced attacks from both the defenders and arriving reinforcements yet emerged victorious. This battle is documented in a
panegyric to Constantine and depicted in a relief on the
Arch of Constantine, showing Verona under siege. In the square relief, Constantine is depicted on the left, shielded by a guard and crowned by
Victory, while on the right, his army assaults the city as the defenders hurl arrows and javelins from the walls and towers. The rightmost section of the wall, lacking lower-level windows, likely represents the portion enclosing the Arena. Several funerary inscriptions of gladiators who died fighting in the Arena have also been discovered in Verona. The least informative is a damaged slab bearing the phrase
[famil]ia gladiatoria; a second mentions the
secutor Aedonius, who fought eight times in Verona before being defeated and killed at the young age of twenty-six; another pertains to a
retiarius named
Generosus, from the gladiatorial school of
Alexandria, who fought twenty-seven times without defeat and died of natural causes; yet another belongs to
Pardon, a
Dertonensis, who perished in his eleventh bout. From this, it appears that
Glaucus made a vow to
Nemesis, a deity revered by gladiators, for his safety, but to no avail. He warns readers not to place too much faith in Nemesis, as a gladiator’s fate also hinged on skill and chance.
Glaucus, whose inscription features depictions of a
retiarius’s weapons, indicating he was likely a
retiarius, must have been a skilled fighter, as his tomb was funded partly by his supporters. The mosaic shows a
retiarius versus a
secutor, with the
retiarius on the ground and a referee intervening. Above, the gladiators’ names are nearly faded, but a
V (for
vicit, “he won”) appears over the
secutor, and
ISS—likely once
MISS for
missus, “spared”—over the
retiarius. The central panel depicts a
Thracian gladiator triumphing over a
murmillo lying bloodied on the ground, with the referee raising the victor’s arm; the defeated gladiator’s name,
Caecro, is visible. The third scene shows a
retiarius defeating another gladiator, who rests his shield on the ground in surrender. The existence of a gladiatorial barracks in Verona is confirmed by an inscription housed at the Maffeian Lapidary Museum, though some scholars suggest it may refer to an enclosed, open-air area for youths’ physical and recreational activities, not necessarily ruling out a barracks in the classical era.
Medieval history , the oldest depiction of Verona, prominently featuring the amphitheatre still in excellent condition. During the
Romano-Germanic kingdom of
Theodoric the Great, the Verona amphitheatre likely underwent maintenance work and hosted spectacles, leading several medieval chronicles to attribute its construction to Theodoric: It was under Theodoric that the amphitheatre suffered its most severe damage. The discovery within the
Theodoric walls of a block inscribed with the number LXIII from the amphitheatre indicates that much of the outer ring was demolished during the construction of this defensive wall, which extensively reused salvaged materials. This partial demolition was necessary both to procure building materials and to reduce the Arena’s height, deemed too vulnerable if captured during a siege. The structure retained the functionality of its
cavea and the ability to host spectacles, as the height reduction of about 12 meters affected only the upper gallery, not the seating tiers. Subsequent damage to the amphitheatre resulted from natural disasters, including the
Adige flood of 589, the earthquake of 1116, and the catastrophic
earthquake of January 3, 1117. During the reign of
Berengar, the first devastating invasions by the
Hungarians forced defenders to bolster fortifications, using the Arena as a stronghold. In those years,
Verona’s bishop Ratherius created the so-called
Raterian Iconography, depicting Verona as it appeared in the mid-10th century, with its churches, gates, bridges, and walls. The Arena is shown with its outer ring still intact, accompanied by verses describing it as a labyrinth of dark galleries. On certain occasions, the Arena’s
cavea was quarried for marble to support new constructions, particularly after the fire that ravaged the city in 1172. In the 13th century, the first efforts to halt the amphitheatre’s destruction emerged through restorations and commitments outlined in the municipal statutes of 1228. During the communal and Scaliger periods, legal battles reminiscent of ancient gladiatorial games were held within the Arena: to settle uncertain trials, litigants could hire professional fighters, known as champions. These contests drew crowds cheering for their favored combatant, with the oiled, naked fighters determining the trial’s outcome through their strength. Even
Dante attended at least one such event, describing it in a
canto of the
Inferno: In 1278, at the behest of
Alberto I della Scala, nearly 200
Cathar heretics captured in
Sirmione by his brother
Mastino I della Scala were burned at the stake within the Arena. It was also Alberto I who introduced regulations on the amphitheatre’s use: the 1276 statute decreed that prostitutes could reside solely within the Arena, while the 1310 update mandated its closure and imposed fines for breaking the gates or relieving oneself inside. These provisions seem contradictory—mentioning prostitutes inhabiting the arcades while simultaneously ordering closure—but this reflects a distinction, persisting until the 1800s, between the inhabited outer arcades and the enclosed inner
cavea. Exceptions occurred, such as in 1382, when 25 days of festivities, including jousts and spectacles, were held inside for the wedding of
Antonio della Scala to Samaritana da Polenta. In 1337, the city, indebted from a war against an anti-Veronese league, ceded the Arena’s rental income to the University of Citizens (a consortium of municipal creditors) with the consent of
Mastino II della Scala. The monument would not be fully redeemed until 1586.
Early modern history In 1450, under the
Venetian government, new statutes were compiled, including provisions for the Arena, with one particularly significant decree: The same statute also reaffirmed that prostitutes were required to live in the Arena. This is the earliest official document describing the building as memorable, proposing solutions to ensure its preservation. . The amphitheatre thus began to hold great importance for the civic community.
Verona was the first city, as early as the 1500s, to initiate a series of efforts prioritizing the protection and restoration of antiquities. Further restoration resumed in 1651 but paused in 1682, with additional significant interventions in 1694 and 1699, including partial repairs to the seating tiers. In the early 1700s, major maintenance ceased to allow for archaeological excavations within the Roman amphitheatre. These began in 1710 with Ottavio Alecchi, who uncovered the central well and an elliptical channel facing the first step, noting it was once covered by stone slabs with central circular holes 7 cm in diameter. In 1728, Marquis
Scipione Maffei, a pivotal figure in the study and restoration of the monumental structure, published
Degli Anfiteatri e singolarmente del Veronese, marking a significant shift toward a scientific and archaeological approach to the monument, prioritizing its preservation. In this work, he criticized excavations in the
cavea that altered its original internal configuration. For this text, Maffei conducted thorough historical research and monument surveys, including excavations that yielded several finds. the division of the seating tiers into sections and wedges; the crowning of the upper interior with a
loggia; the placement and height of the
podium, which he calculated at 1.53 meters and later reconstructed; the purpose of underground conduits, which he argued could not have flooded the Arena; and the central well, previously thought to support the
velarium, but which he interpreted as a rainwater drainage system.
Jousts On February 26, 1590, the first documented joust took place inside the Arena, despite the ordinance to keep the
cavea closed not yet being lifted, though it was gradually falling into disuse. Its use remained exceptional until the 17th century, when the interior, alongside the exterior, began to be leased out. On May 29, 1622, a
Giostra della Quintana was held inside, described by chroniclers for its participation of knights not only from Verona but also from abroad, including some from
Sweden. Another memorable joust occurred on May 4, 1654. with the last joust held on November 20, 1716, in honor of the
Elector of
Bavaria, organized by
Scipione Maffei, who lamented that Verona’s nobles no longer held such events there. From that year, contracts leasing the monument’s interior shifted from equestrian activities to troupes of actors and dancers, who erected stages within the arena. The first precisely documented performance was Maffei’s
Merope, staged in July 1713 by
Luigi Riccoboni’s company.
Carlo Goldoni attended one such show in July 1733, leaving a description in his
Memoirs of the setting and atmosphere, with nobles and the wealthy seated in chairs and the common folk on the tiers. The most favored spectacle, however, was bull hunting, pitting a bull (or sometimes oxen) against dogs trained by butchers. In September 1786,
Goethe visited Verona and marveled at the amphitheatre—the first major ancient monument he encountered—noting with surprise that the popular
pallone game was not held inside. On January 1, 1807, the
Deputation for Public Ornament was established, tasked with preserving the Arena. In 1816, following Verona’s transfer to the
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, it was renamed the
Commission for Ornament. In 1817, excavations outside the amphitheatre traced the continuation of the channel aligned with its major axis, followed as far as
Palazzo Ridolfi, as noted by an inscription there, and uncovered the foundations of the
Gallienus walls, which intersected the channel. In 1820, the municipality ordered the eviction of residents from the Arena, assigning 42 arcades for storage use. Evicting 36 tenants was a crucial step toward the monument’s reclamation and comprehensive restoration. This met fierce resistance from occupants, some of whom claimed centuries-long tenure passed down through generations. That same year,
Podestà Da Persico met with Austrian Emperor
Francis I to outline the monument’s needs, prompting the municipality to develop a work plan. The average level of the
Bra was also lowered by about 70 cm, sloping gently from the Gran Guardia toward the Arena, and the
Liston’s elevation was adjusted. This transformed
the square before the Arena and the Arena itself: lowering the square restored the monument’s proportions, while demolishing the New Mercy Hospital, fourteen houses toward San Nicolò, and military furnaces abutting the municipal walls, alongside the Gran Guardia’s completion, lent greater space and coherence to the ensemble. after the creation of the central gardens in 1873. In 1866,
Veneto joined the
Kingdom of Italy, yet the
Commission for Ornament persisted, renamed the
Commission for Civic Ornament. In 1876, it was replaced by the
Advisory Commission for Monument Conservation, established in each province of the kingdom. During this period, Count Antonio Pompei emerged as Verona’s most active figure in addressing restoration challenges, publishing essays between 1872 and 1877 aimed at reconstructing the amphitheatre’s original appearance. He also oversaw the restoration of the third tier of
vomitoria, though uncertainties during the work prevented a full overhaul of the
cavea. During
World War II, the
Superintendency for Monuments, led by architect Piero Gazzola, installed temporary buttresses inside and outside the wing to shield it from bombings. After the war, these were removed, and the wing was statically reinforced according to the design of engineer
Riccardo Morandi: a post-tensioning system inserted 5 mm steel cables into holes drilled from above, aligned with the pillars, then filled with pressurized liquid cement. This reinforcement of the wing’s five vertical pillars occurred between 1953 and 1956. Further interventions from 1954 to 1960 cleared remaining arcades of warehouses and shops, demolishing non-original structures such as partition slabs, wooden stairs, internal tiled roofs, and counter-walls. In 1955, about fifty wooden gates were replaced with the current iron ones. From 1957 to 1959, the lower ramps of four internal staircases were restored, arcade floors were paved with pebbles, central stone walkways were laid in the
ambulacra, underground conduits and the central well were cleaned, the entire outer ring was restored, and cracks between the
cavea’s steps were sealed. In 1960, the old central pit cover was demolished, a new slab was built, and an iron railing was installed along the top step to prevent spectators from falling, despite some controversy. Since 1984, during the Christmas season, a steel comet star designed by architect Rinaldo Olivieri, 70 meters high and 82 meters long, was placed in
Piazza Bra, with its tail resting inside the Arena. However, in January 2023, during routine dismantling, part of the star fell, causing irreparable damage to several steps; consequently, from Christmas 2024, only the star’s “head” has been installed, with its traditional tail replaced by light beams.
Performances and opera Bull hunting remained popular into the early 1800s, even earning
Napoleon Bonaparte’s approval. Later that year, the Arena served as a detention camp for Austrian prisoners, who dismantled the comedy stage for firewood. In November 1807, Napoleon, revisiting Verona, observed the start of another bull hunt. In May 1815, marking Verona’s return to the
Austrian Empire and a visit by Archduke
Heinrich Johann Bellegarde, viceroy of the
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a bull hunt was held, followed by corn distribution to the poor—a common blend of entertainment and charity. In March 1816, to celebrate Emperor
Francis I and his wife
Maria Ludovika, bull hunting was replaced by a jockey race, preceded by corn distribution via carts sent to parishes. In the 1800s, equestrian competitions, cycling races,
hot air balloon displays, acrobatic gymnastics, comedies, and
tombola games were highly popular. Notable events included the 1838 tombola attended by Emperor
Ferdinand I, highlighted by thousands of colorful umbrellas opening during a downpour, and the 1857 event with Emperor
Franz Joseph, featuring a widely enjoyed tombola and
greasy pole spectacle. Rossini’s music returned to the Arena on July 31, 1842, following the success of his
Stabat Mater at the
Teatro Filarmonico ten days earlier. The first opera season occurred in 1856, with performances of
Il Casino di Campagna and
La fanciulla di Gand by Pietro Lenotti, the first act of
Gaetano Donizetti’s
L’elisir d’amore, and Rossini’s
The Barber of Seville. The Arena also served civic purposes, hosting the November 16, 1866, celebration of
Veneto’s annexation to the
Kingdom of Italy in the presence of
Victor Emmanuel II. After 1866, as Verona remained a military city, the army grew closer to the populace, occasionally staging carousel spectacles inside. The first Sunday of June featured a fireworks display for the
Albertine Statute celebration. From the early 1900s until the 1913
Aida that launched the
Arena di Verona Festival, circus performances were the most successful shows. Since 1913, the Verona amphitheatre has become the world’s largest open-air opera venue, preserving its role as a space for popular entertainment while upholding the monument’s dignity. It has also occasionally hosted gladiators, wild beasts, and Christian persecutions for historical film productions.
Other events performing on the Arena stage in 2017. In music, the Arena of Verona has historically hosted the finals of the
Festivalbar, and since 2017, it has been the venue for the annual Power Hits Estate, an awards event organized by
RTL 102.5. It has also welcomed numerous pop concerts, leveraging the prestige of this unique open-air theatre, featuring a wide array of Italian and international artists.
Zucchero Fornaciari holds the record for fourteen consecutive performances. The Verona amphitheatre hosted the final of the 1970 edition of the television program
Games Without Borders. In sports, the Arena has served as the finish line for the final stage of the
Giro d'Italia in the
1981,
1984,
2010,
2019, and
2022 editions. In May 1988, at the twilight of the
Cold War, it hosted a historic friendly volleyball match between the men's national teams of the
United States and the
Soviet Union. In August 2023, it welcomed the opening match of the
2023 Women’s European Volleyball Championship between
Italy and
Romania. In 2026, the Arena hosted the
closing ceremony of the
Winter Olympics and the opening ceremony of the
Winter Paralympics. Preparations for both events included renovations to improve safety and
accessibility. == The amphitheatre in its urban context ==