Amphitheatre of Pompeii

The amphitheatre was among the first buildings brought to light after excavations began in 1748. At first it was thought to belong to ancient Stabiae: only in 1756, with the discovery of an inscription, did it become clear that the buried city was Pompeii. We like this story of an identity rediscovered almost by chance.Two inscriptions record that it was built in 70 BC, shortly after the founding of the Roman colony, at the expense of the magistrates Quinctius Valgus and Marcus Porcius, the same men who had the Odeion built. It is the oldest masonry amphitheatre preserved in good condition: consider that Rome only had a permanent building for gladiatorial games decades later.