Amphitheatre of Catania
The structure centred on an elliptical arena, surrounded by radial walls and vaults supporting the seating of the cavea, which had 14 steps and 32 aisles.
Despite the overall sobriety of the building, the contrast between the colour of the very dark igneous rock of the walls and the red bricks of the arches must have been very striking.
[1] According to an uncertain and unconfirmed tradition, it was intended that naumachiae (staged sea battles) take place in the amphitheatre, using the ancient Roman aqueduct of Catania [it] to fill the arena with water.
The other two columns are located on either side, with stone walls in between with symbolic epitaphs of two illustrious ancient Greeks linked to this area (Charondas on the left and Stesichorus on the right), which were composed by the poet Mario Rapisardi.
Although this source is obviously hagiographical, it led vulcanologists like Carlo Gemmellaro to erroneously interpret the amphitheatre (which is near the city gates) as the point where the lava stopped.
However, when a core was drilled into the walls of the internal walkway in the twentieth century in order to determine what was behind them, "wagonloads" of liquid flowed out,[3] clearly indicating that the space behind is empty.
The fragment of volcanic rock is very likely fill placed there in order to support the foundations of the facade of the Chiesa di San Biagio above it.
In the early years of the 20th century, renovation work was undertaken in order to open the site to visitors, as part of the construction of the Piazza Stesicoro.
Inside the villa, which is now used by the University of Catania's Faculty of jurisprudence, it is still possible to see part of the vaulting system that linked the Amphitheatre to the Montevergine hill (probably the ancient acropolis of the city).
The early modern excavations seem to be the reason for the instability of the structure, which was announced in 2014 to be in danger of collapse in a parliamentary debate and which had already been brought to public attention by CTzen.
[9] On 24 April 2014, an expert board was established in order to organise the recuperation of the monument and to safeguard the neighbourhood which has developed on top of the structure over the centuries.
Subsequently, fantastical reconstructions of structure were proposed by authors like Ottavio D'Arcangelo and Giovanni Battista Grossi [it], which did however include the first surveys of the building.
In the 18th century, Ignazio Paternò Castello expended substantial amounts of his own money on excavations, in order to establish beyond doubt that the amphitheatre had actually existed - a point that some visitors had strongly denied.
[11] In the 19th century, these excavations could still be accessed from an entrance on the Via del Colosseo (which was and is popular known as 'Catania Vecchia') and all kinds of legends have become associated with it, such as the tale of a school group which snuck into the structure for a visit and never came out.
In 1904, during the administration of Mayor Giuseppe De Felice Giuffrida, work began to bring the whole structure to light, under the supervision of the architect Filadelfo Fichera [it].
