Roman Amphitheaters In Campania/Italia

The most known Amphitheater is logically Colosseum in Rome. It's the largest ever built in Empire and belongs to the greatest architectural works of Romans.

But it's not the last. Third largest and better conserved in time is the amphitheater of Pozzuoli (photo from Wikipedia). This one was used for sea-battles too.

Here, in Campania there is the second large amphitheater too, that of Capua, a town situated not so far from Pozzuoli and Naples (not more than 20 km, I think). In Nocera and Pompei there are amphitheaters too.

Well, that of Nocera was built after the scuffle in Pompei, so it has to be built between 60 and 65 aC. Archeologists think it has to be LARGER as those of Capua. And because I just told you that the amphitheater of Capua was second large in the world, so imagin the importance of Nuceria Constantia of Roman times. They say, there was an other in Salerno too, but today it's difficult to find it.

Now if you want to think about this quantity of enormous amphitheaters in a relatively little zone. About 60-70 km from Nocera to Pozzuoli and to Capua. And there is an enormous theater with -as they say- really great acustic in Nocera (it's in the same conditions as Necropoli actually, read: Roman Necropolis Of Nocera Superiore)...

I think that Roman Empire had it's end because they did not work and did not make babies, they passed all the time to make feasts.

The amphitheater of Nocera is actually under earth. I read about projects to begin the excavations, but I'm not sure about it because I did not find the precise date of this "great event".

Here I post some photos of the amphitheater of Pozzuoli that I visited during ritrit. It was closed because of first morning hours when I arrived there and I have only external photos.

If you click on the photo and see the original size, you can imagin better the size of this building. And it's beauty.

Here you see the modern sitting steps. I think it's used for different plays today, so as they do in Pompei. Personally I had not this possibility to assist a performance in ancient amphitheater else, but I think it's a great idea to continue the use of this buildings.

Here you see the internal enormous corridor. I think it was not for visitors. There is possible to see (if you enter inside) the places where there were lifts for animals, rooms for gladiators.

This photo I had to make too light that you can see the down part. In the light of the first morning sun that part was too dark for my camera.
Related post:
Pozzuoli. The City On The Volcano