The Roman amphitheatre in Ancona

One of the things to see during your visit to the city of Ancona, in the historic center is the roman amphitheatre. It is located in the most ancient area of the city close to the very important Cathedral of Saint Cyriacus.

A wide area delimited by a fence is what is left of the ancient amphitheatre. A silent and magical place, able to make you feel immediately part of the ancient gladiator performances and shows that must have taken place there during the Roman Empire. A peculiarity of this archeological site is that most likely naval combats took place there as well!

The roman amphitheatre was built in the age of Emperor Augustus, approximately in the first century b.C, and had a high capacity of about 1000 people in the audience, sitting on 20 terraces. Most likely, the audience included people coming from outside the suburbs. Remarkable is the presence of a big arch, visible from the street, annexed to the ancient door of the previously build Greek acropolis. The architect who built the amphitheatre probably wished to keep the previous Greek building.

In the surroundings of the roman amphitheatre you may find a frigidarium, that is to say an ancient roman thermal baths building. On the floor, you may still see a dolphin symbol very well kept and an inscription dating back to the Augustus age mentioning the duumvirates of the roman colony.

To find hotels or bed and breakfasts in the historic center of Ancona click here : ANCONA

To visit the roman amphitheatre please contact:

Segreteria Soprintendenza Archeologia delle Marche tel.+39 071 50298202 –

From Monday to Friday from 10am to 12pm. Please make a reservation if you wish to visit the site in a group with more than 20 people.