When we talk about an amphitheatre, the first thing that comes to mind is the Anfiteatro Flavio, better known as the Colosseum.
But did you know that there are a lot of amphitheatres all over Italy? Among the most famous are the Arena in Verona, the Roman amphitheatre in Trieste and the Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii.
Albano Laziale: a town overlooking Lake Castel Gandolfo
Today we will focus on one of the lesser-known, but still worthwhile sites, the Saverian amphitheatre in Albano Laziale, a town overlooking Lake Castel Gandolfo, where wealthy Roman aristocrats once had villas to escape the summer heat of the city.
The town is entirely part of the Roman Castles Regional Park, and its name derives from Albanum, as the surrounding area was called in Roman times.
The history of Roman Amphitheatres
The term amphitheatre derives from the Greek ‘amfi’ for ‘around’ and ‘theatre’, an elliptical building used for public performances. Amphitheatres were the hub of social life, the venue for gladiatorial shows and ‘venatus’ fights between men and animals. The amphitheatre’s capacity was about 15,000 people.
Gladiators were mainly prisoners of war, criminals or even free men who decided to enter the arena in pursuit of gain or glory.
To all intents and purposes gladiators were slaves, but they had the possibility to gain their freedom during the fights thanks to their courage and strength.
Fighting as a gladiator was not the worst scenario for a prisoner because there were also executions in the arena, such as by sword, by wild beasts or, in the case of serious crimes, by crucifixion.
The structure of the Saverian Amphitheatre
It is interesting to know that the structure of the Saverian amphitheatre is partly built directly from the rocky bank and partly in masonry, and since the ground below was steeply sloping, a substructural terrace was built.
The tiers of seats have been largely lost, but we can assume that they were on two levels and that they were supported by about thirty archways of various sizes, for a total height of about 22 metres.
We can tell this because today the first level and the archways are still visible, together with the cavea and part of the triumphal entrances.
For those of you less interested in history, you can enjoy the summer festival called “Anfiteatro estate” with live performances, Italian musicians and cover bands.
So why not take a trip to the amphitheatre with one of our Castel Gandolfo Tours to appreciate this piece of history or just to enjoy a nice evening with friends?
