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Sitting in the center of Piazza Brà is Verona Arena (Arena di Verona), an ancient Roman amphitheater build in 30 AD. It’s one of the best preserved ancient amphitheaters and is still in use today. The arena is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the city of Verona.

Exterior at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Exterior

The Verona Arena once held over 30,000 spectators. It featured games and performances, and was famous all over the ancient world. Nowadays, the arena can hold about 15,000 people for concerts and operas. Several notable musicians have performed there.

Exterior at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Exterior

 

Visiting the Arena

Admission to the arena is €12 for adults, €9 for seniors over 65, €3 for visitors aged 18-25, and free for children up to 17 or holders of the Verona Card (as of August 2024). We were also able to visit a special Christmas exhibition of nativity scenes from around the world for a few extra euros.

Exterior at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Exterior

At first, we explored some of the dark tunnels and large arches that run around the arena.

Outer arches at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Outer arches
Tunnels at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Tunnels
Tunnels at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Tunnels

We then entered through a tunnel that took us up to the arena floor. We were able to walk around  on the surface to see how the arena would look to a performer (or maybe a gladiator?).

Tunnel leading to the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Tunnel leading to the arena
Entering the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Entering the arena
On the Verona Arena floor
On the arena floor

Then it was up into the seating area to get a look at the entire arena. We imagined how it would have been in ancient Roman times, with gladiators battling to the death. We also thought it would be a unique place to attend an opera or concert, but unfortunately it was winter and there were no performances.

The Verona Arena from the seating area in Verona, Italy
The arena from the seating area
In the seating area at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
In the seating area
In the seating area at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
In the seating area

From the very top, we were able to see the entire arena floor as well as some good views of Piazza Brà down below.

View from the top at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
View from the top
View from the top at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
View from the top
View of Piazza Brà at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Piazza Brà
View of Piazza Brà at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy
Piazza Brà

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Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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