Roman Amphitheater of Teramo

The Roman Amphitheater is located only a few meters west from the Roman theatre and the most evident part of its bricked wall remains can be seen in via S. Berardo at the cathedral's left.

The Amphitheater's plan was originally elliptical with a 208 meters perimeter and the major and minor axes of respectively 74m and 56m.

there are several entrances in the perimeter wall such as the arched one on the minor axis of the ellipse and the one with three arches side by side along the major axis. A series of secondary passages led directly to the bleachers for the public, of the radial structure of which no trace remains.

The age of the construction is currently uncertain, however it should date around the 1st century.[1] From the report of the pastoral visit of Teramo's bishop and prince Giulio Ricci, bishop and prince of Teramo , in the Cathedral of Teramo[2] on 8 June 1583 , we read that the Bishop (sensing the value of the monument below) ordered the earth to be removed from the side of the moistened wall that emerged in the gardens near the Cathedral .

In the course of that reconnaissance the following were examined and described:

• The elliptical curve of the external wall

• The original entrance,which is represented by a radial wall on the left side of the Cathedral, extended towards the inside of the Amphitheater for about 10 metres;

• Another stretch of radial wall referable to the structures, inside the building, supporting the bleachers, with continuation towards the center of the arena;

• The height of twelve meters of the curtain wall, considered from the level;

• Three brick arches, referable to the southern entrance;

• The remains of the external praecintio with brick facing;

• Various radial diaphragms in coordination with the elliptical wall of the external circle of the building;

• A substructure for the steps arranged all around the cavity of the great monument;

• Rough Roman fragments;

• A particulary detail is also the presence of a female right hand holding something undefined realised in greek marble.

Remainings of the Roman Amphitheater of Teramo, in the background there's the Cathedral

Until 1926 the remains of the amphitheater were confused with those of the Roman theater, which was located near it, because various constructions had been built on both. In 1937 excavations were carried out to classify better the remains that became more and more visible and clear in their north-south layout with the subsequent demolition of the buildings along the perimeter wall of the monument.

It is hypothesized that the amphitheater was used as a fortress because, in the subsoil of the structure, tunnels have been found which seem to have had a military purpose (in the past Teramo had several tunnels used to connect the churches to each other, such as is attested by the tunnel found and made visible under the floor of the Cathedral of Teramo during the last restorations, by its continuation under piazza Martiri della Libertà or by the one near the church of the Madonna delle Grazie ).

In the Middle Ages the amphitheater, as well as the nearby Roman theater, was used as a cave to obtain materials for the construction of various neighboring buildings, in particular the Cathedral built in the 12th century on the area occupied by the north-western part of the amphitheater itself. On the external right wall of the Cathedral and in some internal parts, one can observe some sculpted stones removed from the amphitheater.

Currently above the amphitheater is the large building of the former Seminary, the construction of which in the 18th century caused the irreparable loss of the internal structures.

• Riccardo Di Cesare, INTERAMNA PRAETUTTIANORUM. Roman sculptures and urban context, Edipuglia 2010

• Edoardo Galli, Teramo preliminary survey of the Roman amphitheater, Rome, Accademia dei Lincei, 1940, pp. 336–350;

• Francesco Savini, The Roman amphitheater of Teramo and the recent excavations, (report accompanied by four phototypical tables), Rome, Tip. Forzani and C., 1907;

• Riccardo Cerulli, Illustrated history of Teramo, Teramo, Edigrafital, 1970, pp. 259–261;

• Paola Di Felice, The Roman amphitheater of Teramo, in Teramo and the Tordino valley, Teramo, Cassa di Risparmio Foundation of the Province of Teramo, 2006, (Documents Abruzzo Teramo, 7), pp. 149–158;

• Amphitheatre
• Teramo Cathedral
• Teramo Roman theatre
• Teramo

• "Aerial photo with Roman theatre, amphitheater and cathedral". Archived from the original on July 19, 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2007.