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Arena di Verona is a Roman amphitheater located in the historic
center of Verona, an icon of the Venetian city along with the figures of
Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the great buildings that characterize
Roman architecture, and one of the ancient amphitheaters that has come
down to us in the best state of preservation thanks to systematic
restorations carried out since the sixteenth century; it is for this
reason that, in spite of the many transformations it has undergone, it
enables the visitor to easily understand the structure of this type of
building, strictly subordinate to the function for which they were
intended, but nonetheless endowed with essential beauty.
During
the summer months, it hosts the famous Arena Opera Festival, which has
been running continuously since 1913 in seasons, while the rest of the
year attracts many singers and musicians from all over the world.
The lack of written sources about the opening of the amphitheater
makes it very difficult to establish a definite chronology, so much so
that dates ranging from the 1st to the 3rd century have been suggested
in the past, although it has now been demonstrated that it could not
have been built after the 1st century. In particular, the historian
Pirro Marconi proposed dating between the second and third decades of
the 1st century, i.e. between the end of the August period and the
beginning of the Tiberian era, while more recently Luigi Beschi leaned
towards the middle of the same century. .
In order to be able to
give a more accurate dating of the Arena, it has been compared with the
Pula amphitheater, given that the latter is most similar to the Veronese
both in style and technical aspects, and also belongs to the same
geographical and cultural area: the resemblance is such that it can even
be assumed that this is the work of the same architect and the same
workers. The construction of the Pula amphitheater is usually dated to
the Augustan period, so it is likely that the Arena was built around the
same time.
Other elements that helped to determine the possible
dating are the decorations of the amphitheater and, above all, the
helmet that covers the life-size tuff head of the gladiator: the helmet
has two round holes through which the eyes can be seen. fighter, and the
sallet consists of two parts that are connected exactly in the middle of
the face. These cheek pads start rather thin at the ears, but expand to
cover the entire face except for the eyes, and seem to be held together
by two straps crossed under the chin. The distribution of this type of
helmet falls at the end of the era of Augustus, the reign of Augustus
and the beginning of the reign of Claudius. Considering that the statues
were made at the end of the construction of the building, it can be
assumed that the Arena was already completed around 30 AD, which is
confirmed by the historian Pirro Marconi.
Thus, the amphitheater
was most likely part of the monumentalization work carried out in Verona
during the Julio-Claudian era, which included the construction of new
buildings in the Verona Forum and surrounding areas, as well as the
rebuilding and renovation of the facades of the city gates. Thus, both
the amphitheater of Verona and the amphitheater of Pula preceded the
construction of the Colosseum: these were two important episodes in the
development of this type of entertainment building, and they were
fundamental to the improvement of construction methods that later
allowed the construction of the largest of them. amphitheater of the
Empire in Rome.
The history of the amphitheater in antiquity is largely unknown,
although some information can be gleaned from events related to Roman
Verona. The city was involved in a war between Vitellius and Vespasian:
the latter, in fact, chose the city as a fortress because it was
surrounded by open fields where he could use the cavalry. However, the
city walls were now unusable due to the presence of an amphitheater just
outside the walls, so he decided to build a rampart and dig the
Adighetto, a long ditch south of the city, also used in the Middle Ages.
Thus, the realization of this work is a confirmation that in 69 AD. the
amphitheater had already been built.
Emperor Gallienus fought
long wars to stop the barbarian invasions in the 3rd century, during
which he used Verona in his new resilient defensive tactics, which saw
fortresses in the cities of Mediolanum, Verona and Aquileia. Therefore,
in 265, he decided to restructure the city's late Republican walls and
build a new 550-metre-long section of curtain wall to finally include
the Arena, solving the problem of its dominant position in relation to
the Republican-era walls. In 1874, Antonio Pompei carried out
excavations around the Arena, during which the foundations of the walls
of Gallienus were discovered, stretching 5 meters from the amphitheater.
It was also found that the walls were cut through by sewers to drain
rainwater, even if the Arena could still be used for spectacles, as an
alternative solution was built: a large central well, the existence of
which was discovered as early as the 18th century. . However, the
drainage of the water had to be less efficient, and so the decline phase
of the amphitheater began from this period.
It is possible, even
if there is no credible evidence, that the amphitheater was also used
for the martyrdom of Christians, and the Marquis Scipione Maffei
suggests that Fermo and Rustico were martyred here in 304, on the same
occasion that Bishop Procolo he asked to be executed, but instead he was
ridiculed and fired for his old age.
In 312, Verona again became
the protagonist of the war between Constantine and Maxentius, when the
latter barricaded himself in Verona, and Constantine's army began to
besiege it: the assault took place right at the height of the
amphitheater, which served as a bastion for the besieged, since it was
much higher than the walls of Gallienus . In front of the amphitheater,
two of the most important clashes of that campaign took place: the
sortie of the besieged, which allowed Ruritius Pompeian to go for
reinforcements, and the night battle in which Constantine was taken on
two fronts, by the sortie of the besieged and from that rescue, even if
he still managed to win. There are two descriptions of this battle, one
in a panegyric to Constantine, and the other in a relief from the Arch
of Constantine showing the city of Verona under siege: the square relief
on the left shows Constantine, protected guarding and crowned with
Victory, and on his right an army is attacking the city while the
besieged are firing arrows. and darts from city walls and towers. The
part of the wall on the right, where the windows on the lower floor are
missing, was probably the one containing the Arena.
The
establishment of Christianity and, as a result, the cessation of
gladiatorial games, together with the inefficiency of state bodies in
preserving the monument, were two important impetus for the abandonment
of the building.
There are few documents that talk about performances inside the
Veronese amphitheater, in particular, the only literary document that
has come down to us is a letter from Pliny the Younger:
Gaius Pliny
to his Maximus.
You were right in promising our Veronesi a show of
gladiators who have long loved, respected and revered you. Your wife was
also from this city, so dear to you and so rich in qualities. It was
appropriate to dedicate some public work or performance to his memory,
and even better, a performance most suitable for a funeral. Besides, you
were asked so insistently that to deny it would show not firmness, but
excessive rigidity. And I congratulate you even more, because in giving
it, you were open and generous; even in this case, the person shows
generosity. I wished that the African panthers, which you bought in
large numbers, would arrive on time: but even if this could not happen
due to bad weather, you still deserve thanks, since it was not your
fault, but could have been exhibited. Goodbye"
It can be inferred
from the letter that a friend of Pliny offered the hunting spectacle,
venatio, to the Veronese community as a funeral honor for his wife.
According to Pliny, this choice is particularly suitable for this
occasion, because originally these kinds of performances were nothing
more than funerary games of Etruscan or bell origin.
Grave
inscriptions of gladiators who died fighting in the Arena have also been
found in Verona: the least informative is a mutilated tombstone with the
inscription [famil]iagladiatoria; the second inscription mentions the
secutor Aedonius, who fought eight times at Verona before being defeated
and then killed at the young age of twenty-six; another inscription
instead belongs to a retiarius, a certain Generosus of the gladiatorial
school of Alexandria in Egypt, who fought twenty-seven times, never once
being defeated, and died of natural causes; the other inscription is
instead by Pardon, a native of Dertonensis who died during the eleventh
battle.
However, the most interesting inscription belongs to a
certain Glavko: from what can be concluded, Glavko swore his salvation
to Nemesis, one of the deities most revered by gladiators, but to no
avail. Therefore, he warns the reader not to trust Nemesis too much,
since the life of the gladiators also depended on their skill and the
vagaries of fate. Glaucus, whose inscription features the image of a
retiarial weapon (so it was almost certainly a retiarial gladiator),
must have been a good quality gladiator, given that the inscription was
also created thanks to the contribution of his admirers. .
In a
house in Verona, not far from the ancient Roman walls, a mosaic
depicting gladiatorial games has been discovered that can be dated to
the Flavian era and the early 2nd century. The mosaic includes a central
panel: here, inside the circles, geometric elements, and among them
dolphins and plant elements. On the sides of them are panels with images
of gladiators, in particular the three central ones. The function of
this mosaic is only decorative, so it is unlikely that it depicts
gladiatorial games held in the amphitheater of Verona, although there
are inscriptions with the names of gladiators, probably famous local
gladiators. The mosaic depicts a fight between a retiarius and a
secutor, where the retiarius lies on the ground, and the arbiter stands
between them. Above were the names of two gladiators who had almost
disappeared, and the letter V, which means vicit (he won), and above the
retiarius ISS: M is definitely missing, so it should have been MISS,
short for missus. , i.e. had to save a life. On the central panel, the
Thracian and the enemy (myrmillon) lie on the ground and are covered in
blood. In this case, the judge raises the hand of the winner. In this
case, the name of the defeated gladiator is visible, this is Cecro. In
the third scene - the victory of the retiarius over another gladiator,
who puts his shield on the ground as a sign of surrender.
In
Verona, the existence of a gladiatorial barracks has also been confirmed
by an inscription kept in the Maffei Lapidary Museum, although some
scholars believe that this actually refers to a fenced and open area
intended for the physical and recreational activities of young people.
if that doesn't negate the existence of gladiatorial barracks in the
classical era.
During the Roman-Germanic reign of Theodoric the Great, there was
probably some maintenance work on the Veronese amphitheatre, but above
all some performances were organized, from which are taken various
medieval chronicles attributing the construction of the Arena to
Theodoric:
“In the same city, he built a very large house, which
surprisingly resembles the theater of Romulus. Here you enter and exit
through a single door, and you can easily climb the stairs, arranged in
a circle, even if it is unusually high. He greets many thousands of men
who see and hear each other. There is no certainty about its founder,
since this building is still called the house of Theodoric today.
(Chronicon Gozecense, 12th century.)
However, the worst damage to
the amphitheater in its long history was by King Theoderic: the
discovery of a carved table block numbered LXIII inside the walls of
Theoderic, belonging to the amphitheater itself, indicates that most of
the outer ring was demolished during the construction of this curtain
wall. , for the construction of which bare material was widely used.
Partial demolition of the building was necessary both to restore
building materials and to reduce the height of the Arena, which was
considered too dangerous if captured during a siege. However, the
building retained the functionality of the cave and the possibility of
holding a show, as the reduction in height by about 12 meters resulted
in the loss of only the upper gallery, not the steps.
Subsequently, other damage to the amphitheater was caused by natural
disasters, including the flood of the Adige in 589, the earthquake of
1116 and the catastrophic earthquake of January 3, 1117. The first
catastrophic invasions of the Hungarians occurred during the reign of
Berengario, which forced the defenders to strengthen the defenses and
use the Arena as a fortress . In those years, the Bishop of Verona,
Raterio, created the so-called Raterian iconography, which depicts
Verona as it was in the middle of the 10th century, with churches,
gates, bridges and walls. He also shows us the Arena di Verona with the
outer ring intact, and relates several verses describing it as a
labyrinth of dark galleries.
In some cases, Cave del Arena was
used as a marble quarry for the construction of new buildings, in
particular, immediately after the fire that hit the city in 1172. The
first attempts to stop the destruction of the amphitheater date back to
the 13th century. through some restorations and commitments made in the
municipal statutes of 1228. During the era of the municipality and the
Skala, judicial fights were held inside the amphitheater, which can
recall the ancient gladiatorial games: to resolve dubious trials, the
interested parties could use professional wrestlers, called exemplars.
The struggle called on the townspeople to take the side of one or
another champion, and the fighters, naked and oiled, decided the fate of
the process with their strength. Even Dante participated as a spectator
in at least one of these fights, describing him in the song "Hell":
"What champions did naked and anointed
advising them to keep and
their advantage,
before they are beaten and stung between them;
and yes revolving, every face
straightened up towards me so that
their necks were between them
he made an uninterrupted journey."
(Dante Alighieri, Inferno - Canto XVI, pp. 22-27.)
In 1278 almost
200 heretic patariennes captured in Sirmione by his brother Mastino I
della Scala were burned at the stake inside the Arena by Alberto I della
Scala, and it was Alberto I della Scala who always introduced some rules
for the use of the amphitheater: in the Statute of 1276 it was
established that prostitutes can only live in the Arena, and in the 1310
update, there is an order to keep the Arena closed and to fine anyone
who breaks down the doors or satisfies their bodily needs inside. These
two chapters seem to contradict each other: we are talking about the
arches inhabited by prostitutes, and at the same time about the closing
of the Arena. This is not really a contradiction, since from then (and
until the nineteenth century) the building was divided into two parts,
between a residential exterior, the arches, and a closed interior, the
cavea. However, there were exceptions, for example, in 1382, when 25
days of festivities were held inside it with knightly tournaments and
performances about the wedding of Antonio della Scala with Samaritana da
Polenta.
In 1337, the city was in debt because of the war against
the anti-Veronese league, so the municipality, with the consent of
Mastino II della Scala, transferred the income to the University of
Citizens (as the consortium of creditors of the municipality was called)
arising from the rent of the Arena (the monument would only be fully
redeemed in 1586. ).
In 1450, under the Venetian government, new statutes were drawn up
with some provisions concerning the Arena, and the following are of
particular importance:
“Since many crimes are committed in the
Arena, and the Arena itself is a memorial building that brings honor to
the city, therefore it must be kept clean, it is established that the
said Arena should be closed, and the keys to the doors remain at the
farm in the city, next to the farmer; and if anyone breaks a door or a
wall, he will be punished with a fine of 25 lire, and the same
punishment will be applied to anyone who destroys one of the steps, or
moves or drops any stone to remove it from the Arena and is obliged to
compensate damage at your own expense; and if anyone brings and unloads
carts of earth, mud, or other things into or around the Arena, he shall
be liable to a fine of 100 soldi and must take the material at his own
expense. Jurors from nearby areas and those in the Arena must bring
charges, and the accuser will receive half the fine."
(Rite of
Veronesi, Book IV, Chapter 56)
In addition, the same law confirms
the provision obliging prostitutes to reside in the Arena. This is the
oldest official document in which the building is defined as a memorial
and from that moment its exaltation begins, and the Renaissance culture
is of increasing interest in it with a critical and historical analysis
of the monument: in the Veronese cultural environment of the fifteenth
century, in particular, two artists and architects such as Giovanni
Maria Falconetto and Fra Giovanni da Verona rediscovered the importance
and constructiveness of the Arena, making a decisive contribution to
changing the negative perception associated in the archaic medieval
imagination with the figure of the Arena. labyrinth. After them, the
monumental building was also studied and adopted by personalities such
as Giovanni Caroto, Sebastiano Serlio, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger,
Baldassarre Peruzzi and Andrea Palladio: architects and artists who also
looked for workable solutions to guarantee the preservation of the
Arena.
Thus, the amphitheater began to acquire great importance
for the urban community, so much so that Verona was the first city,
already in the sixteenth century, to initiate a whole series of
operations capable of delivering the protection and restoration of the
ancients. In this regard, it was important to redeem part of the
mortgage in favor of the University of the townspeople, thanks to which
in 1537 it was possible to sanction the removal of prostitutes from the
arches, which were rented to artisans and merchants. By the middle of
the 16th century, in this atmosphere of great participation in the fate
of the city and its main monument, the slow renovation of Bra, a large
square over which the amphitheater towered, began, while on May 24, in
1568, it was decided to restore the same amphitheater, derelict, on the
basis of a project based on studies carried out up to that time by
experienced architects, such as those carried out by Caroto and
Palladio. Restoration work, dedicated in particular to the restoration
of the Cavea, was interrupted in 1575 due to a serious plague that hit
the city of Verona. However, in 1586 the municipality finally succeeded
in completely buying the Arena from the University of the Citizens.
Other restoration work began only in 1651 and was interrupted in
1682, but other significant interventions were carried out in 1694 and
1699 with partial restoration of the steps. In the early years of the
eighteenth century, emergency repair work was halted in order to start
archaeological excavations inside the Roman amphitheatre: exploration
began in 1710 by Ottavio Alecchi, who discovered a central well and an
elliptical channel facing the first step, which he noticed that in
antiquity it had been blocked stone slabs, having in the center at a
certain distance a round hole with a diameter of 7 cm. updated
scientific and archaeological approach to the monument. all your
protection. In the text, he criticizes, in particular, the excavations
of the cave, which changed the original internal configuration of the
monument. In preparing the work, Maffei carried out a thorough
historical research and study of the monument, including through
archaeological excavations, during which some finds were discovered. The
archaeological problems he identified were: the subdivision of steps
into menians and wedges; crowning the inner upper part with a loggia;
the location and height of the podium, which he calculated to be 1.53
meters since it was later rebuilt; the functions of the underground
channels, which he denies could have been used to flood the Arena; the
central well, which had hitherto been considered a support for the
velarium, but which he considered to be a rainwater drainage system.
From September 1728 to July 1729, important work was carried out to
clear the layer of earth (120 cm) that covered the floor of the arena,
and from 1731 to 1735 the wing was restored and strengthened. Then work
resumed vigorously only in 1761, when the tasks of excavating, surveying
the ellipse, euripio and podium, and building a model up to the second
order of the vomitorium were assigned to correctly move the steps for
initiation. a radical revision of work previously done without critical
input. Work was interrupted in 1772 due to lack of funds, then resumed
in 1780 and interrupted again three years later.
On February 26, 1590, the first documented carousel was held in the
Arena, although the ordinance to close the cavea had not yet been
repealed, but at that time it was gradually falling into disuse, even if
its use was exclusive and the change in this status only occurred in the
seventeenth century, when in addition to the appearance of the
amphitheater began to reduce the interior. On May 29, 1622, the great
Giostra della Quintana took place inside, the spectacle of which was
described by some chroniclers, since it was attended by knights not only
from Verona, but also from foreigners, some even from Sweden. Another
memorable carousel is remembered on May 4, 1654.
The afternoon
show inside the amphitheater in the 18th century became extremely
popular, and on November 20, 1716, the last tournament was held in honor
of the Prince Elector of Bavaria, organized by Scipione Maffei, who
complained that the Veronese nobles did not hold several attractions
inside. . Since that year, tender contracts for the interior of the
monument no longer referred to knightly exercises, but to companies of
comedians and dancers who built stages inside the arena. The first exact
mention of the play is Maffei's Meropa, staged in July 1713 by the
troupe of Luigi Riccoboni. Carlo Goldoni also attended one of these
performances in July 1733, who also left a description of the
environment and atmosphere in his memoirs, where the nobles and the
wealthy sat in chairs and the common people sat in the stands.
Among the occasional sights, in January 1751, a rhinoceros appeared,
whose vision silenced all onlookers who could not believe such an animal
existed. But the most coveted pastime was the bull-hunt, in which the
bull (or, in some cases, oxen) fought the butcher's trained dogs. In
September 1786, Goethe visited Verona and was thus able to admire the
amphitheater, the first important antiquity he saw, marveling that the
popular ball game was not played inside.
In 1805, Verona was under French rule, and on June 15 of that year,
Napoleon Bonaparte visited the amphitheater, witnessing the bull-hunt
inside, and on this occasion, the government allocated funds for the
restoration of the monument: Luigi Tredza was authorized to study the
work plan in order to accommodate the missing steps , restoring the
podium, the most damaged vaults, restoring the stairs leading to the
first and second order of vomit, and the main staircase leading to the
third tier of vomit, and finally, pour the solution of the podium.
Trezza developed a crack filler that was used until 1825, a mixture of
quicklime, crushed bricks and iron filings.
On January 1, 1807, a
Deputation for Public Decoration was created, among whose tasks was the
preservation of the Arena, which in 1816, after the transfer of Verona
to the Kingdom of Lombardo Veneto, changed its name to the Commission
for Decoration. In 1817, excavations were carried out outside the
amphitheater to establish a continuation of the canal, aligned with the
main axis, which went as far as the Palazzo Ridolfi, as evidenced by the
inscription placed there, and the foundations of the walls of Gallienus
were found, which were about to cut the canal.
1820 was an
important year, as the municipality decided to evict the houses from the
Arena, providing 42 arcovoli for storage space. The eviction of 36
residents was the first step towards the restoration of the monument and
its complete restoration. The eviction met with strong resistance from
the tenants, who in some cases claimed a centuries-old occupation passed
down from generation to generation from father to son. In the same year,
the podesta Da Persico met with the Austrian Emperor Francis I and
pointed out to him the needs of the monument, so after contact, the
municipality received an invitation to draw up a work plan. The project
especially concerned the external arrangement of the amphitheater with
the demolition of houses too close to it; in addition, it was decided to
excavate along the Arena in order to reveal its base, given that it was
buried about two meters due to material deposited after the numerous
floods that had affected the city. up to the construction of the
embankments, but also the lowering of the average level of Bra by about
70 centimeters along a slightly inclined line from the Gran Guardia to
the Arena, and also the level of Liston was lowered. Thus, the square in
front of the Arena and the Arena itself took on a new look: the lowering
of the level of the square led to the restoration of the proportions of
the monument, and the demolition of the Misericordia Nuova hospital with
fourteen street numbers towards San Nicolò and military ovens leaning
against the municipal walls, together with the final completion of the
Gran -Guardia gave more scope and rationality to the whole.
In
1866, Veneto passed to the Kingdom of Italy, but the Commission for
Decoration was still in force, which, however, appeared under the name
of the Commission for Civil Ornato, only in 1876 it was replaced by the
Consultative Conservative Commission of Monuments, created in all
provinces of the kingdom. During this period, Veronese's most active
personality in the field of studying the restoration of the amphitheater
was Count Antonio Pompei, who between 1872 and 1877 published several
essays on the amphitheater, in which he mainly sought to restore the
original appearance. amphitheater. He also supervised the restoration of
the third order vomitoria, but did not give the cavea a new aspect due
to some uncertainties that arose during the work.
During World
War II, the Office of Monuments, under the direction of the architect
Piero Gazzola, created several temporary buttresses outside and inside
the wing to protect it from bombing during the war. At the end of the
conflict, these buttresses were demolished, and the wing was statically
reinforced according to the design of Eng. Riccardo Morandi: The
engineer developed a post-tensioning system that involved inserting 5mm
diameter steel cables into top-drilled holes aligned with the posts,
which were then filled with pressurized liquid cement. Strengthening
with this system of harmonic steel cables placed in five vertical wing
struts was carried out between 1953 and 1956.
Other interventions
carried out from 1954 to 1960 consisted of the restoration of the
arches, still occupied by warehouses and shops, with the demolition of
all non-original structures, such as dividing slabs and wooden stairs,
internal tiled roofs, counter-stone walls. In 1955, about fifty wooden
gates were replaced with iron gates that have survived to this day. From
1957 to 1959, the lower ramps of the four internal stairs were restored,
the pavement of the arches was made of pebbles, and the central stone
walkways were arranged in ambulances, the underground passages and the
large central well were cleaned, the entire outer ring and cracks
between the steps of the cave were sealed. In 1960, the old covering of
the central pit was demolished and a new attic was built, and in the
same period, iron railings were built along the last step to protect
spectators from accidental falls, the construction of which faced
various contrasts.
Bull hunting is still popular in the early 19th century, so much so
that even Napoleon Bonaparte shows he enjoys it. Later that year, the
Arena was used as a concentration camp for Austrian prisoners, who
demolished the comedy stage for firewood. In November 1807, Napoleon,
who was again in Verona, went to watch the first moments of another
bull-hunt.
In May 1815, on the occasion of the return of Verona
to the Austrian Empire and the visit of Archduke Heinrich Johann
Bellegarde, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardo Veneto, a bull hunt took
place, and at the end of the performance, corn was distributed. the
poorest: after all, it was customary to combine fun and charity. In
March of the following year, in honor of Emperor Francis I and his wife
Maria Ludovica, bull-hunting was replaced by jockey races, preceded by
the distribution, also in this case, of corn to the poor, displayed on
carts in the center. amphitheater, which were then sent to parishes.
On November 24, 1822, after the end of the Congress of Verona, a
large choreography took place in the building with a lyrical prelude.
The text, entitled "Sacred Union", was written by Gaetano Rossi, and the
music was written by Gioacchino Rossini, who directed its performance:
at the beginning of the performance, Fate made four chariots appear with
a nod from the four sides of Minerva (surrounded by allegorical images
of the arts, abundance and happiness), Ceres (surrounded by nymphs and
trade), Neptune (surrounded by sea geniuses) and Mars (surrounded by
strength, valor and warriors). Four different dances were performed at
the same time while the chariots were turning so that all the spectators
could enjoy the spectacle. The last painting was an ensemble performance
around a statue of Concordia.
In the 19th century, competitions
in horseback riding and speed racing, climbing shows with balloons,
acrobatic gymnastic exercises, comedy and the game of bingo were highly
valued: the most famous was the 1838 competition, in which Emperor
Ferdinand I also took part, when the beautiful part of the show took
place with the opening of thousands of umbrellas of all colors for a
shower, and in 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph took part, who attended a very
popular show with the extraction of bingo and Maypole. Rossini's music
returned to the Arena only on July 31, 1842, after ten days earlier the
first urban performance of the Stabat Mater had been a success at the
Philharmonic Theatre. However, the first operatic season took place in
1856 when they performed Pietro Lenotti's Casino di Campagna and
Fanciulla di Gand, as well as the first act of Gaetano Donizetti's
L'elisir d'amore and Rossini's The Barber of Seville. The arena was also
preparing for civic duties, such as on November 16, 1866, when, in the
presence of Victor Emanuele II, the celebration of the accession of
Veneto to the Kingdom of Italy took place. After 1866, Verona remained a
military city, but the army showed itself closer to the people,
sometimes arranging a carousel show in the monument. In addition,
fireworks were held on the first Sunday in June to celebrate the statute
of Albertina.
The most successful performances in the first
decade of the twentieth century before Aida in 1913, which officially
opened the Arena Opera Festival, were circus performances. Since 1913,
the Veronese Amphitheater has become the largest open-air opera house in
the world, and through this the need to preserve the character of the
environment for popular performances has been preserved, while at the
same time protecting the dignity of the monument. In addition,
gladiators, beasts and persecution of Christians returned several times
to make historical films.
More events
In terms of music, the
Arena di Verona has been the historic venue for the Festivalbar finals
and since 2017 it has hosted the Power Hits Estate prize event hosted by
RTL 102.5, held annually. Numerous pop music concerts have also been
held here, thanks to the prestige of this one-of-a-kind open-air
theatre, which has exhibited numerous Italian and international artists.
Zucchero Fornaciari holds the record for fourteen shows in a row. Since
2021, the amphitheater has also hosted Arena Suzuki, a television music
variety program that airs on Rai 1 and is simulcast on Rai Radio 2.
In terms of sports, the Arena was the finish line for the finals of
the Giro d'Italia in 1981, 1984, 2010, 2019, and 2022. On May 23, 1988,
at the end of the Cold War, the amphitheater hosted a historic friendly
match between the US men's national volleyball teams and Soviet Union.
Finally, the Veronese Amphitheater hosted the finale of the 1970
television program "Giochi senza frontiere".
The Veronese Amphitheater was built about 70–80 m from the republican
walls of the city, facing the corner formed by the city walls to the
south. This emphasizes the fact that it was not provided for in the
original design of the city, such as, for example, the theater of
Veronense, including because in the middle of the 1st century BC. (when
the city was refounded inside the Adige loop), it was a period of civil
wars, and therefore it was unrealistic to build such an imposing
building near the city walls that would weaken, if not uselessly, the
defensive defenses. system: it is therefore concluded that the work was
built in a period of peace, which almost certainly coincides with the
beginning of the imperial era. As proof of this, in the third century,
during a period of crisis, military anarchy and barbarian invasions, the
emperor Gallienus felt the need to build new walls, which included the
Arena.
The fact that the work was built outside the walls means
that the interior space has by now been almost entirely built over. In
addition, this characteristic also imposed a test of viability, given
that tens of thousands of people arriving from the city, the countryside
and nearby villages flocked to the amphitheater and clogged the doors
leading to it (including the Via Postumia, which was part of the Porta
Borsari , was already a very busy road): therefore, Porta Leoni and
Porta Borsari were rebuilt, and two new secondary exits at the height of
the amphitheater were probably created. In addition, the orientation of
the latter makes the connection with the city especially obvious,
despite the fact that it was built posthumously: it is aligned with the
city grid, in particular, the major axis is parallel to the loops, and
the minor axis is parallel to the loops. decade. This parallel
orientation with respect to the city is mainly due to the need to
connect the sewers of the amphitheater to the city system.
It
should also be noted that the location outside the walls allowed for
easier inflow from the countryside and other cities. The shows were
quite far apart, given their high cost, so it was normal for people from
other cities to come to see them as well.
The main element of the amphitheater plan consists of the ellipse of
the arena (the central space where the performances took place), which
was almost certainly traced on the ground at the beginning of the work:
the outer perimeter of the amphitheater was obtained, then drawing a
line, the concentric line of the arena. This basic ellipse was obtained
from four circles, of which the two smaller ones (located along the
major axis) were obtained by dividing the semi-major axis into five
parts of 25 feet each, two of which are nothing more than a radius taken
at the end of the same major axes. The main curve, on the other hand,
has a radius of seven 25-foot pieces centered on the edge of the outer
extension.
The dimensions of the arena are 75.68 m x 44.43 m, or
250 x 150 Roman feet, so the figure is round, confirming the simplicity
of the base module used, with a ratio between the major and minor axes
of 5 to 3. Cavea is instead 39.40 m wide, or 125 feet, and the maximum
dimensions of the amphitheater (major axis x minor axis) are 152.43 m x
123.23 m, or 520 x 420 Roman feet. These dimensions allow the Arena to
be placed eighth in size among the Roman amphitheaters and fourth among
the amphitheaters located in Italy, after the Colosseum, the Campanian
amphitheater and Milan.
The amphitheater stood on a small
artificial ledge (whereas it is below normal street level today) and its
foundations consisted of opus caementicium stalls. The difference in
height between the outer ring and the base of the podium is 1.60 m.[66]
Drainage, essential for a structure of this size, was provided by three
circular collectors located under the floor of as many concentric
galleries, which were nothing more than the load-bearing structure of
the ground floor. Two other collectors were located along the major and
minor axes of the structure and diverted wastewater up to the Adige (by
the way, one of them was explored for about a hundred meters). This
sewer system was very efficient, also because of its large size: the
height was constantly maintained at two meters. They were built from
patches of cobblestone, fastened with mortar and alternating horizontal
rows of three bricks, with large stone slabs acting as a covering. A
similar technique was used for the implementation of urban sewerage.
The appearance of the monument today is very different from the
original, in part due to the lack of an outer ring that would have been
a true monumental façade, a task now performed by the inner façade. The
only remaining part of the outer wall is the so-called Ala, which
consists of four arches. This ring did not perform an important
function, but served as a monumental facade of the work: its arches
exactly reflected the empty spaces under the cavea, and its huge columns
summed up and completed the lines of force emanating from within. The
overlapping of the three orders of arches made the existence of the two
galleries and the upper portico visible from the outside, while the
architraves completed the vaults of the inner galleries. Thus, complex
internal volumes find external aesthetic and spatial expression.
Connections between the facade and the building behind it are provided
only by common foundations and barrel vaults of the third and upper
galleries. The façade consists of three rows of arches superimposed on
each other, completely built of regular blocks of red ammonite
limestone, which is very common in the province of Verona. The arches of
the first order have a height of 7.10 m, the second - 6.30 m, and the
third - 4.50 m: this arrangement of heights enhances, when viewed from
below, the impression of vertical soaring. The pillars of the first
order are 2.30 m wide and 2.15 m deep (therefore almost square), and on
them the pilaster ends with a Tuscan order capital, at the level of the
cornice. The arches rest on two semi-capitals and end on the side of the
pilaster, just above its middle. Above the Tuscan capitals is a strip of
blocks, on which above each arch is indicated the number of the entrance
(today there are blocks LXIV to LXVII, even if other blocks with a
number are located around the amphitheater), so the second group of
blocks is identical to the previous ones, which support the upper frame.
Considering that there were 72 arches and, therefore, entrances,
considering the numbering of the preserved wings, it can be concluded
that the number I must have been the number of the western entrance,
which confirms the great importance of this sector. The entries were
numbered counterclockwise.
The second order of the façade is
practically the same as the first, if the lower height is excluded.
However, there are slight differences in the third order: the capitals
are always of the Tuscan order, but there are no pilasters, and the
cornice consists of an entablature enclosed by a frieze and another
cornice. There were then shelves inside that were used to support the
porch beams, and certainly not to support the canopy, as some scholars
thought (also because, with its enormous weight, the shelves could only
support it if they were placed outside).
The use of the same
order in all orders is typical of other amphitheaters such as Nimes or
Pula.
Starting from inside the amphitheater and moving along the axis of
the galleries, 6.80 m from the outer edge of the cavea comes the opus
caementicium massif and then the first gallery 3 m wide and 3.60 m high,
followed by 11.18 m from the second, 3.30 m wide and 9.10 m high, and
then the third gallery 14.45 m from the second, 4.30 m wide and 8.15 m
high. Another one (of the same size) towered above the outer gallery,
which, in turn, supported the portico of the cave .
These three
concentric galleries formed four sectors. Always starting from the
inside, between the arena and the first gallery is the first line of
stands, the menianum. The first annular corridor, called the
praecinctio, rested on the vault of the first gallery and divided the
steps of the second order between the first and second galleries. Thus,
above the arch of the second gallery was the second annular corridor,
which separated the stands of the second and third order. At this point,
the staircase leading to 64 vomitoria has a more complex shape and
begins to intersect. Thus, there was a third annular corridor that
separated the third and fourth tiers of stands. Then a portico was
raised, corresponding to the outermost gallery, the roof of which rested
on the colonnade in front of the cave on one side and on corbels (still
visible on the wing) on the other.
The most monumental entrance
to the amphitheater is located to the west of the building, that is,
towards the Borsari gate and Via Postumia: here the central vault is
twice as high as the others and reaches the steps of the auditorium.
Thus the western sector must have been the most important, which seems
also to be confirmed by the different arrangement of the stairs compared
to the eastern sector: in the first sector (the western) the rooms are
symmetrical, thus the corridors are made straight and therefore lead the
spectators directly to the lower tiers of stands, while in the eastern
sector the corridors are rather irregular, and most of the people were
heading towards the upper tiers of the stands. Conversely, in the
western sector, most of the guests went to the lower strata. In
addition, the procession that opened the games probably entered through
the monumental entrance.
The construction technique is standardized and reproduced throughout
the building, and the materials used do not have any decorations other
than an architectural order on the outer facade, even if there were
certainly statues, some of which, found during excavations, are stored
in the archaeological museum on st. Roman theatre. The materials used to
construct the monument are uniform throughout the building, indicating
that due to the strength of the structure, the Arena has seen only
limited repairs. On the other hand, the stands have been restored
several times, both because of the constant wear and tear to which they
are subjected, and because of the use of the amphitheater as a quarry
for materials for a long time during the Middle Ages; finally, the great
renaissance restoration removed part of the original structure of the
auditorium steps, in particular, the corridors separating the various
sectors disappeared, making it difficult to reconstruct the exact
position of the 64 access stairs, however, they are all still present.
The exterior façade and columns were made of hewn stone,
specifically Rosso ammonitico found in Valpolicella, a very common
limestone in the Verona area, which was used in both pink and white,
creating a widespread two-tone. The marble blocks have been treated in
such a way that they can be stacked on top of each other without the use
of mortar, while the visible surfaces have not been treated, giving the
effect of ashlar and reducing processing time.
The internal
masonry was built on a sack pattern with a mixed lining of bricks and
pebbles: in practice, alternating layers of rather large pebbles and
three rows of bricks, with the last pedal or one and a half (i.e. one
foot or one and a half feet) dark red and about 8 cm, and the mortar
joints are about 1 or 2 cm thick. First of all, the rooms near the
entrances were built using this technique, while the other walls, which
make up most of the amphitheater's structure, were made with concrete
casting inside the wooden formwork. Even vaults in opus caementicium
made of mortar and pebbles, cast on wooden formwork, the impressions of
the boards of which are still visible.
The sewer pipes were built
of opus mista, with sections of masonry fastened with mortar
interspersed with horizontal rows of three bricks. Connected to the
sewer, in the center of the arena is an underground room 8.77 m wide and
36.16 m long, the purpose of which remains unknown.
At the beginning of the 1st century, Verona was a large city,
comparable in size to Mediolanum, situated in a strategic position at
the mouth of the Via Claudia Augusta on the plain which, following the
Adige, led to the Brenner Pass and then to the Brenner Pass. Rezia. It
was these premises that led to the size and construction of the
amphitheater, which had to take into account the rather high population
of the city, the countryside, but probably also the surrounding cities:
Vicecia and Brixia, in fact, seem to have had no amphitheatre. The
future demographic development was certainly also taken into account,
since the construction of such a structure was very expensive, and it
was necessary to avoid the construction of a second building (as
happened, for example, in Pozzuoli) or the extension of an existing one
(as in Pola) due to calculation errors.
Recently, the capacity of
the Arena for Summer Performances was calculated for 22,000 people,
however, it must be taken into account that the stage takes up about a
third of the seats and that there is no longer a portico in the highest
part of the cavea, so it is very realistic to speak of a capacity in
Roman times of about 30,000 seats.
Over time, various legends have developed about the origin of the
Arena: in a certain period of the Middle Ages, it was said that a
gentleman from Verona, accused of a bloody crime for which he was
sentenced to death, in order to save his life, he promised the rulers of
the city that he would build a huge building in one night , which could
accommodate all the inhabitants of the city and in which spectacles
could be arranged: in fulfillment of the promise, he promised his soul
to the devil, who undertook to do work in the hours between Ave Maria in
the evening and in the morning. At night, all the devils of Hell
gathered in Verona to do a great job, but that night the gentleman
repented of the promise he had made, for which he prayed to the Madonna
all night, receiving mercy: the sun rose two hours before; in the
morning, at the first note of Ave Maria, all the demons again plunged
underground, leaving the structure, although in a good place,
unfinished: this was to become the source of Al.
According to
other medieval legends, its construction has always been attributed to
the devil because of its enormous size, which made it seem incredible
that humans could have built it. According to other legends, it was
built by King Theodoric, probably because he restored the amphitheater
and held numerous performances there.