Here are some images of the Arena in Verona, which dates from about AD30, and is made of huge blocks of rather lovely pink and white limestone. The tall outer ring was was destroyed by an earthquake in 1117, and only the small section you can see in the photo below survived.

Bikes parked on railings outside the Arena at night.

Around the outside of the Arena, the half that doesn’t face Piazza Bra is boarded off and chock-a-block with props for the opera! The Opera season is in summer and it appeared that preparations were well under way for the opening. There were cranes out the back moving things around, crew preparing the stage area inside, whole facades complete with cherubs lying in the sun and an enclosure with of every kind of spear, axe and prong coralled inside it. We were told that when an opera was on all the hotels booked out well in advance. It is obviously a major driver of the city’s economy, but one young waiter was telling us that there was some anxiety that it wasn’t drawing as many people as before, and that new attractions were needed.

Two giant gladiators frozen in combat out the back of the Arena.

Some nice sphinx-y creatures.

When we went inside we could go up close to the outer wall…

… and look down at the piazza.

Various views of the Arena inside.

Michael in the balcony box area above the main entrance, which is about half way up the overall height.

You can see that balcony box on the left in this photo.

The blocks of stone were enormous! In the corridors underneath all the seating I was interested in the wedge construction with such huge blocks. In some lintels the blocks were actually even longer and went straight across.