The Arena di Verona is an ancient Roman amphitheater in the center of the historic city of Verona. It is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters and it is also one of the largest still in existence. It is fourth among the largest existing Roman amphitheaters. To top it all off, the place is still used for entertainment just as it was used way back in the time of the Romans. Sorry, if you were expecting gladiators here then you are in for a disappointment. These days, the entertainment here is of a less violent type. In the summer, there is a festival of opera held here. I guess it would be nice to experience that in a millennia old structure still serving its purpose after all these years.

I was making my way into the amphitheater and soon enough I was there. This is probably the largest Roman amphitheater that I have visited. For those wondering, I didn’t get to go in the Colosseum in Rome because I was there on one of the three days in a year it would not be open. From the inside the amphitheaters looks vast. In fact it looks flatter than I would have imagined it to be. These are shaped like that to allow everyone to see and hear what is going on. Remember that this was the time before speakers and audio equipment exist. To allow your audience to hear you, you need to position them properly. After years of designing amphitheaters like these, the Romans became experts in the art of making a performing stage and they did it almost two thousand years ago.

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