Amphitheater architecture
Introduction
A Roman amphitheater is a vast circular public building, with graduated floors, organized around an arena where shows of gladiators hunting wild animals, or exceptional naval battles, took place. Very recognized and numerous remains are known.
History
Origins of the amphitheater
The amphitheater is presented as the combination of two theaters.[1] It is made up of an arena and stands around it. The first buildings of this type were built of wood, and later, the constructions became immense, using brick and stone. The largest were made up of three or four floors and could have considerable heights, (for the amphitheater (Colosseum in Rome).
In ancient Rome, in the Campania region of southern Italy, the first permanent buildings were built thanks to a distribution of natural relief. This last structure was called cávea (cage). The Roman amphitheater of Pompeii, built around 70 BC. C.,[2] is the oldest that has been preserved. The constructions of Capoue and Pozzuoli, built at the end of the century, constitute two of the oldest examples of this monument that hosted gladiatorial combats (munera in Latin) and wild beasts (venationes).
The custom of organizing such shows was not new. The fighting was witnessed in Etruria and Campania. In Rome itself, it was disputed for the first time in 264 BC. C., in the Boarium forum"), being held on several occasions in the same place. The square where it had been excavated also served as an arena. The wooden steps around it received the spectators. Later, the amphitheater was no longer the only place where gladiatorial combats were held. The first amphitheater in Rome was built in 29 BC, and was attended for a long time by the Roman forum.
From the amphitheater
The amphitheaters multiplied. In almost all cases the arena had an elliptical plan, which was due to the favorable perception of the spectacle it gave to the public. It could be entered through doors located at the ends of the elliptical axis. From the Augustinian period onwards, rooms could be found underground with corridors connected to the surface by small steps. Forklifts moved the beasts toward the surface. A high slope separated the arena from the public. As in the theater, the stands were divided horizontally and vertically. In the older buildings, the sand was sometimes perforated and the cavea was attached to the natural terrain, retained by a wall on its periphery. Access to the stands was limited to the outside of the building. This method of construction was followed until the 60s AD. C., and changed to the theatrical structure. The walls formed arches and were the support base for the stands. The peripheral galleries and their stairs integrated into the led to vomitoria. The façade of the monument was presented as a superposition of one to three levels and an attic.