The Flavian Amphitheatre, Pozzuoli's Colosseum

We saw it with the ancient Thermal Complex located in Fuorigrotta, on Via Terracina, and we realise it again in Pozzuoli, where the marvellous Flavian Amphitheatre stands, second in capacity only to the Colosseum and the Campanian Amphitheatre of Capua, thanks to a cavea that could hold up to 40,000 spectators.

by Simona Vitagliano

Campania, like many other regions of southern Italy, is one of those territories where you only need to go for a walk, even through its most chaotic streets, to "stumble" upon archaeological remains.

History

The Flavian Amphitheatre is one of the many archaeological sites immersed in the full flow of city life: those places you pass by every day on your way to work or back home, so used to living side by side with realities thousands of years old; the people of Naples and Pozzuoli, in fact, are so accustomed to these scenes that they barely notice them any more. In other parts of the world, a single stone can be enough to open a museum: in Campania that is not always the case, perhaps because the entire region is itself one immense archaeological site, bearing witness to the ancient history of our past.

This wonderful Roman amphitheatre is part of the Archaeological Park of the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields), dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD, and was built where the main roads of the region met, the Via Domitiana and the road to Naples, replacing the older venue for shows, dating from the Republican age, which had become too small due to the enormous population growth Puteoli experienced during that period.

It seems that the three most important Roman amphitheatres in the world are, in some way, connected: just as it is widely accepted that the Campanian Amphitheatre (the first of the Roman world) served as a model for the Colosseum, it also appears that the architects of the latter were the same ones behind the Flavian Amphitheatre, which was, in fact, built shortly after it.

As for the exact timing, however, doubts remain: according to some texts, its construction would have taken place under Vespasian, with an inauguration carried out by Titus; according to a group of scholars, however, the presence of opus reticulatum suggests a foundation under Nero, whose role would then plausibly have been erased through a process of damnatio memoriae. It should be said, though, that the reticulated brickwork is not the only building technique found at the site, since the use of fired bricks can also be seen; finally, one cannot fail to mention an epigraphic inscription which reads: "Colonia Flavia Augusta/Puteolana pecunia sua" ("The Colonia Flavia Augusta built it at its own expense") and the fact that the type of amphitheatre closely resembles that of the Colosseum, so the hypothesis of a date in the Flavian age (shortly after Nero's death, that is) would also be plausible.

The site was rediscovered in 1839, along with the works needed to bring it to light: by the end of that same century the excavation work was completed, but only in 1947, with further archaeological activity, did the monument become fully accessible, also cleared of the debris that had built up in the meantime.

Structure

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

Ph: Simona Vitagliano

The Flavian Amphitheatre is arranged over three superimposed orders of arches (ima, media and summa cavea, the tiers of seating) supported by pillars and "crowned" at the top by an attic storey, following the architectural conventions of the time, all within a visually elliptical plan.

The walking surface of an elliptical portico originally surrounded the complex and was made of large travertine slabs, raised one step above street level. From this same portico, bordered by stone pillars decorated with half-columns, one entered the building through the entrances, and twenty flights of stairs also began here, allowing access to the highest section of the tiered seating.

An orderly and controlled flow of spectators took place through internal ring-shaped corridors, which guided the public to the cavea through the vomitoria (access openings set along the tiers of seating).

In the underground levels too, set at a depth of around 7 metres, further similar corridors could be found, along with mechanisms (of which only a few parts survive today) used to raise the cages carrying wild beasts into the arena and, very probably, also stage elements that enlivened the shows. Within the perimeter of the arena, in fact, there were several trapdoors which, during performances, were closed off with wooden planks.

The connection with San Gennaro

The Flavian Amphitheatre is also linked to the events surrounding the death of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius).

During the persecutions of Diocletian, in fact, the first sentence handed down for the martyr (before, that is, the beheading that later took place in the Solfatara area) was that he should be torn apart by wild beasts right here: so Gennaro, Festo, Desiderio and Sossio (who shared the same sentence ad bestias) came to be held in one of the site's cells, which then, in 1689, by order of the then Bishop of Pozzuoli, Domenico Maria Marchese, became a chapel dedicated to the cult of their martyrdom (albeit without any certain historical foundation), decorated with a majolica-tiled altar and a ceramic statue depicting an embrace between Gennaro and Procolo, as also recorded on two plaques placed at the entrance; sadly, today this space, despite having been a destination for pilgrimages up until thirty years ago — so much so that, in 1715, an adjoining space had to be added to accommodate the faithful (decorated with a canvas depicting the beheading of San Gennaro and his companions, and with a stone altar) — is now completely abandoned, at risk of collapse and inaccessible due to structural safety concerns. Last year the Coordination of the Phlegraean-Giuglianese Associations (Co.As.) issued an appeal to the authorities so that "the funds allocated for the enhancement of our priceless historical, artistic and cultural heritage might finally be used, which could bring about conditions for development and employment".

Info

• Ticket: €4.00 (which covers the Archaeological Park, the Campi Flegrei Museum at Baia and the Archaeological Park of Cuma, valid for 2 days!);
• Days and opening hours: Monday to Sunday, closed weekly on Tuesday, between 9 a.m. and one hour before sunset;
• Address: via Serapide, Pozzuoli.