Lecce Amphitheatre Provides a Great Example of Roman Culture

The City of Lecce - located on Southern Italy’s Adriatic Coast - has been called the “Florence of the South” because of the strong baroque influence found in the architecture, but the remnants of the Roman Empire may be the real magnet that attracts a steady flow of tourists to Lecce all  year round.

Peeling away from a throng of foreigners with digital cameras and laminated maps, I turn a sharp corner leading into Lecce’s Piazza Sant Oronzo. The piazza is the focal point of this city. Lecce has managed better than many other city’s to embrace the fashions, hustle and bustle of modern-day Italy, while successfully building around the hotbed of archeological treasure beneath it’s feet.

Following a cobblestone street, I sidestep some traffic and there ahead of me it looms: Leece’s Roman Amphitheatre. An enormous circular structure that seated thousands of patrons. Excavated in 1938, during construction of an Italian bank - the theatre takes up nearly half of the piazza, while the other half remains buried under surrounding coffee shops and boutiques. In its heyday, Lecce’s Amphitheatre was the most important Roman monument of the city. Built under Hadrian's empire, the amphitheatre dates back to the 2nd century when Lecce thrived under its Roman name of “Lupiae”.

Approaching the guard rail I peer down below. The amphitheatre has benefited from recent renovation which - during the last 10 years - has seen major restoration completed of the lower level pens that housed wild animals, gladiators and other forms of Roman-era spectacle. Comments amphitheatre curator Giuseppe Taura:

    “…What you see here is just a fraction of what actually stood
on this spot. Remember, the Amphitheatre held upwards of
20,000 patrons, so were talking about 5 levels in height and
several hundred meters in circumference. The size and scope of the
Amphitheatre dwarfed the surrounding area…”