Amphitheatre of Pompeii
Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Pompeii audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type ruins
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Pompeii Pompeii guide
About Amphitheatre of Pompeii
The oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre in the world (70 BC), with a capacity of 20,000, twice the city's population, and the site of Pink Floyd's famous 1971 concert filmed without an audience.
The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre in existence, built around 70 BC, a full century and a half before the Colosseum in Rome. Built to hold approximately 20,000 spectators, roughly twice the permanent population of Pompeii itself, it drew audiences from throughout the region for gladiatorial games, animal hunts, and public executions. In 59 AD, a riot between Pompeian and Nucerian spectators led the Roman Senate to ban gladiatorial games in Pompeii for ten years, an event immortalised in a famous fresco now in Naples. The amphitheatre is built partly into an earthen bank, an early engineering solution for creating the necessary elevation without the full stone construction of later amphitheatres. In 1971, Pink Floyd filmed their concert film "Live at Pompeii" in the empty amphitheatre, one of the most famous rock films ever made, shot without an audience in the ancient space.
Did you know? The Pompeii Amphitheatre is about 150 years older than the Colosseum in Rome, built around 70 BC, making it the oldest surviving permanent amphitheatre in the Roman world and a prototype for all that followed.
How long should you spend at Amphitheatre of Pompeii?
Plan about ~30 min at Amphitheatre of Pompeii. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Amphitheatre of Pompeii worth visiting?
Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the 15 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Pompeii, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Pompeii
Hear the story of Amphitheatre of Pompeii
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