Verona is the Italian city home to the ancient amphitheatre known as the Arena di Verona.
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre built in the first century AD, probably around AD 30. It was constructed outside the city walls and originally hosted gladiatorial contests and other public spectacles. Its elliptical structure could accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, although estimates vary because parts of the outer ring were destroyed.
A major earthquake in 1117 damaged the outer arcades. Much of the surviving stone was reused in medieval Verona, leaving the distinctive partial outer ring visible today. The arena’s enormous interior remains remarkably well preserved and is now best known as an opera venue.
The first modern open-air opera season there began in 1913 with a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, staged to mark the centenary of Verdi’s birth. Despite its modern musical role, the building remains a Roman monument and should not be confused with Verona’s fictional connection to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.