PARCO DELL’ANFITEATRO ROMANO E ANTIQUARIUM “ALDA LEVI”

Outside the walls, not far from Porta Ticinese, the Milanese amphitheatre, one of the largest known in northern Italy, was built in the 1st century AD. In this typically Roman building, with a central elliptical arena surrounded by tiers of seats for the spectators, duels between gladiators, fights between men and ferocious animals, public executions of those condemned ad bestias, i.e. to be mauled by beasts, and even naval battles took place. The imposing building, which could hold 20,000 spectators, was stripped of the building materials of the outer ring during the 5th century A.D., which were re-employed for new constructions, such as the nearby basilica of San Lorenzo, or to reinforce some sections of the city walls. Following recent archaeological investigations, some scholars hypothesise that the amphitheatre was still in use in the Lombard period (6th-7th centuries AD), perhaps as the seat of the military garrison due to its characteristics as a protected and fortified site.