The Verona Arena

The arena was built around the year thirty, before the Colosseum, and it is the third largest Roman amphitheatre still standing, but the thing that separates it from the others is that it never stopped being used. An earthquake in 1117 took most of the outer ring, leaving four arches of it standing at one end, and the inner structure survived intact. Since 1913 it has staged opera through the summer, with sets too large for any indoor house and an audience of around fifteen thousand on the stone steps. Candles are handed out and lit before the overture, which is a small thing that works.

What you actually see

• The stone tiers - the original seating, still sat on by the audience.
• The Ala - the four surviving arches of the collapsed outer ring.
• Summer opera - since 1913, with sets built for the open air.
• The candlelight - lit across the audience before the first note.

When to go

The opera season runs from June to early September, with the big productions repeated across it. Book months ahead for the numbered seats; the unreserved stone steps go on sale on the day and are cheap. Outside the season the arena is open as a monument.

Honest expectations

The cheap seats are unnumbered stone with no back, and by the third hour that matters; hire a cushion. Performances start after nightfall and finish very late. Rain stops the show and refunds are partial. Verona in high summer is extremely hot and the piazza around the arena is a solid mass of people.

Nearby

Verona's centre is around it; Lake Garda is half an hour west.