resti dell'anfiteatro romano di Pollenzo

The remains of Pollenzo’s Roman amphitheatre are a lesson in pragmatism. This was no free-standing, arcaded giant, but a ‘solid structure’ type: only the arena was excavated, the seating largely sculpted from a natural or artificial embankment. The cavea was arranged in four concentric rings, the outer one a vaulted facade. Spectators sat on tiered seating that rested partly on a subdivided terrace, with vaulted chambers partially accessible, and partly on radial substructures.

The arena, measuring roughly 82 by 48 metres, was defined by a wall with a high podium. The building’s main entrances sat on its axes, supplemented by four secondary passages. The masonry, opus incertum mixtum, used split pebbles in facing, alternating with double brick courses. The whole structure was some 132 by 98 metres. The amphitheatre was still active at the end of the third century; a coin of Probus (276-282 AD) found in abandonment layers provides a terminus post quem. Its final abandonment came between the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Later, the radial chambers were adapted for other uses: one was closed with a wooden palisade, another saw industrial activity, marked by charcoal layers and a hearth.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.