The Larino amphitheater, located in the area of ​​Piana S. Leonardo, the ancient Larinum, represents the testimony of the importance of the city in the historical period.
Probably built between 70 and 150 AD, it was built thanks to the generosity of a wealthy and wealthy senator of the town, as attested by the stone inscription on one of the doors.
In the surrounding area several tombs have also been found since, most likely, the same area was used as a necropolis. Its structure is defined as “mixed”, since a part of the amphitheater is built high compared to the street level, the other part was built at about six meters deep.
The amphitheater has an elliptical base, with four main entrances and twelve secondary gates, which allowed access to the stands. It was a medium-sized theater – it could hold, in fact, about 15,000 spectators – and was intended mainly for gladiator fights and hunting shows.
Of the four main entrances, the northern one was the famous gladiator gate, from which the ancient winning warriors emerged; the south one was intended for the exit of the killed gladiators and the carcasses of the fairs.
The arena has an almost square pit; around it runs the epiphany (water drainage channel), followed by the podium, a sector reserved for important personalities, consisting of three steps covered with large slabs of limestone, applied on a lattice facing.
In order of importance, the other sectors follow:
- the ima cavea, area of ​​the tiers reserved to the Knights, composed of six steps carved directly into the tuff, of which very few elements of the original tiers are preserved;
- the media cavea, a sector for spectators of low social rank;
- the summa cavea, sector where the people of modest condition found place.
It should not be forgotten that in the amphitheater the spectators’ place was always higher as the rank he occupied in society was lower.To remember, finally, as in the Middle Ages the area of ​​the amphitheater was used for burials; recently some tombs dating back to this era have been found, accompanied by interesting kits.