Bread and circuses by TheWanderingCamel
Sometime in the 2nd century AD, the Romans, being rather more into spectator blood sports than high theatrical comedy and tragedy and not content with having altered the Greek theatre to accommodate mock naval battles and gladiatorial contests, built an amphitheatre to rival the Colosseum on the the Colle Temerinte. It was to be, and remains, one of the biggest amphitheatres in Italy. Only the Colosseum itself and Verona's amphitheatre are bigger - though both of those are in considerably better shape than the one here in Syracuse. This one suffered greatly in the hands of the Spaniards who ruled the island when they plundered the place for stone as they rebuilt the city after the great earthquake of 1693.Whilst we can picture what the place must have been like in its heyday., its three tiers of seats packed with thousands of people, the arena floor filled with action - gladiators, wild animals, charioteers, even ships all fought it out here in one gory way or another - it's another matter to conjure up how noisy it must have been. We can walk around between the tiers, sit on the seats, work out clearly the tunnels, the various entrances for spectators and combatants (animal and human), the central cistern and canals that allowed it to be flooded, but al is quiet and deserted now. The day we were there, a mere handful of people were there at the same time.
After the immaculate modern overlay of grey-painted wooden seating and huge stage set in the Greek theatre, the amphitheatre, empty and overgrown, was far more atmospheric.
The amphitheatre is situated in the southern section of the Archaeological Park. The road down to it is lined with stone-cut sarcophagi found in the necropolis. The little stone church you can see is the 11th century Church of Saint Nicoḷ of Cordari that is built over a Roman pool.