Amphitheater

The Roman Amphitheater in Assisi is located in the upper part of the town, in the Porta Perlici quarter.

It is by one of the eight gates to the historic center, an area that was originally located outside the walls of ancient Asisium. Not much can be seen of the original structure, but the typical elliptical shape is still discernable along the route of Via Anfiteatro Romano, which winds between the wall of the ancient arena, which now encloses a vegetable garden, and the medieval buildings built in the area of the cavea.

This is one of the most significant examples of the reuse of an ancient Roman structure during the Middle Ages. The amphitheater was built in the first half of the 1st century AD and was entirely funded by a very prominent family in the city at the time, the Gens Petronia. Two fragmentary inscriptions remain, on exhibit in the Roman Forum And archeological Collection.

The basic structure of the building was divided into wedges arranged radially, from which the stairs led up to the spectators’ seats in the stands. The stands, still partially preserved and visible, were on two tiers on concrete walls covered in opus vittatum and opus reticulatum, using blocks of local stone. Some parts of the structure can be seen below the Monastery of Santa Caterina, today the home of the Nun Assisi Relais & Spa Museum accommodation facility.