Arena di Verona

The Arena di Verona is a Roman amphitheatre and the symbol of the Scaliger town.
The Arena was built in the first half of the first century A.C. and it represents a must for every tourist in Verona.
The grandiose amphitheatre, like the other buildings of this type that were hosting fights between gladiators and hunts of wild and exotic animals, has a central nucleus covered with sand (arena in Latin), surrounded by the cavea composed of stone steps that have a homogeneous width. The Arena has an elliptic form in order to receive the biggest public possible (it could host 30 thousand visitors with a good view on the scene) and to guarantee the proper space of movement to the protagonist on the scene.
Today the entrance to the monument passes through the so-called arcovoli.

The architecture of the Arena is powerful, simple and functional and it influenced the architectonic works of Palladio and Sanmicheli in the 16th century.
Every summer the magnificent Arena di Verona hosts operatic and classical music concerts.
One of the most important events is the Opera Festival, which was inaugurated more than 100 years ago, in 1913. In honour of the 100 years anniversary of the birth of the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, the first represented opera was Aida.
The opera Aida is doubtlessly the most represented one in the Arena: in 2005, it was decided to perform, although it has already been permanently inserted in the programme since 1992. The Opera Festival is a very important event that is able to attract thousands of enthusiasts and lovers of lyric music every year.