The elliptical shape of the Roman amphitheatre at Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, is preserved in the concave exterior walls of these medieval houses surrounding Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, public open space created in 1830 on the site of the ancient arena. Their convex rear walls are built of brick and stone rubble filling massive Roman arches that once supported the cavea, tiers of seating that could accommodate up to 10,000 spectators.
Lucca, Tuscany, Italy: the elliptical shape of the city’s Roman amphitheatre is preserved in the concave exterior walls of these medieval houses, built on its remains and surrounding Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, public open space created in 1830 by demolishing structures that had been built on top of the ancient arena. The convex rear walls of the houses are built of brick and stone rubble filling massive Roman arches that once supported the cavea, tiers of seating that could accommodate up to 10,000 spectators. Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and it became a Roman colony, at first named Luca, in 180 BC. The Roman street plan is still apparent in the rectangular grid of the city centre and Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the Roman forum. The amphitheatre, built in the 1st or 2nd century BC, stood just outside the Roman city walls, with its cavea raised on 55 arches. The arena floor is now some three meters (10 ft) below the level of Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. The amphitheatre fell into ruin after the Roman Empire collapsed. It became a quarry for building materials and was completely stripped of its exterior cladding and columns. The paved open space within the oval, created in 1830 by architect Lorenzo Nottolini, was originally intended to be a market place, but it is now ringed by restaurants, pavement cafés and shops.
Size: 3855px × 2581px
Location: Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1830, 1st, 2nd, amphitheatre, ancient, architect, architecture, arena, balconies, bc, built, cavea, century, change, city, clouds, colony, concave, converted, created, curved, curving, , dell’anfiteatro, dwellings, elliptical, estate, exterior, facade, facades, front, homes, houses, italian, italy, kerr, lorenzo, luca, lucca, medieval, modern, northwest, nottolini, ochre, open, oval, piazza, pink, property, public, real, refurbished, remains, renovated, roman, romans, ruins, seating, shuttered, shutters, space, square, stadium, terence, tuscan, tuscany, wall, walls, windows, yellow
