The Verlasce (also called the Verlascio) is the traditional Roman amphitheater of the town of Venafro (historic Venafrum), positioned on the coronary heart of the trendy city.
Constructed within the 1st century, simply exterior the Roman metropolis partitions, it displays the standard structure of mid-sized imperial amphitheaters.The title derives from the late vintage time period “Perielasium” (from Greek, which means “to go round”), which steadily developed into “Verlascio” and “Verlasce.”
Elliptical plan: roughly 110 meters alongside the foremost axis and 85 meters alongside the minor.
Estimated capability: round 15,000 spectators.
Remnants embrace authentic masonry in opus mixtum (a mixture of stone and brickwork) and inscriptions devoted to the Vibia household.
Deserted between late antiquity and the Center Ages (across the 4th century, doubtless after the 346 earthquake), the construction was later tailored for rural use: transformed into stables and barns, and included into Seventeenth-century rural buildings.
This “peasant” use of the construction paradoxically helped protect its elliptical form.
At present, the amphitheater is an archaeological space with an elliptical format, built-in into the city's city construction and visual as an open sq..
It is among the only a few examples in Italy (alongside the “Parlascio” in Lucca) the place the unique Roman kind has survived regardless of being constructed over.
Restoration efforts are ongoing, although issues about neglect and abandonment have been raised by the local people.
