Aosta · Italy

Roman Amphitheatre

Behind these walls stood an amphitheatre holding 15,000. You cannot see it because a convent grew over it: in the fifteenth century the sisters of Saint Catherine settled among the Roman arches and absorbed them into their cloister. The result is one of the most singular juxtapositions in Italy: a wall built for gladiatorial combat holding up an enclosed convent. 15,000 places for a town of perhaps 7,000: the amphitheatre did not serve Aosta alone, it served the whole valley, and on show days people came down from the villages and filled the streets. Entertainment was the most effective instrument Rome possessed for holding newly conquered ground together: swifter than a law and more popular than a temple. Fourteen hundred years later the sisters found those walls still standing and took the most sensible decision available. They built inside them.

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Why so big?

Because it did not serve the town alone. Aosta administered the whole valley, and on show days it filled with people from the villages. A large amphitheatre was also a statement of importance.

How did a convent end up there?

In the most practical way possible: the Roman walls were already standing and sound. Building inside a solid ruin cost less than building from scratch, and in the fifteenth century nobody thought of the amphitheatre as a monument to protect.

Can you see any of it?

Yes. A run of Roman arches is still perfectly legible inside the convent complex, and other fragments surface among the houses around it. Check opening times before you go.

Where it is

Via / Rue Guido Rey, 11100 Aosta · 45.73963, 7.32187 · Open in Maps

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