Arena Di Verona

Verona’s Arena: A Roman Amphitheatre That Still Seats 15,000 for Opera

The Arena di Verona was built around 30 CE during the Roman Empire and used for gladiatorial combat. It held approximately 30,000 spectators when complete. In the 12th century an earthquake destroyed most of the outer ring; what remains is the inner structure and two bays of the original facade. In 1913 the tenor Giovanni Zenatello and the impresario Ottone Rovato organised the first opera performance here, a production of Aida to commemorate the centenary of Verdi’s birth. The Verona Opera Festival has run every summer since then, interrupted only by the world wars.

The practical consequence: a Roman amphitheatre built for blood sport now seats 15,000 people on stone terraces for opera performances by the world’s leading companies and singers. The acoustic properties of the stone oval work. There are no microphones. A soprano singing from the centre of the stage can be heard in the top row.

Going to the Opera

Tickets for the festival (June through August) range from around €30 for unreserved stone terrace seats to €250+ for numbered front stalls. The stone seats require a rented cushion (€2-3, available at the venue), three hours of Roman granite becomes uncomfortable without one. Arrive 30-45 minutes before the 9pm start to find your position and watch the crowd fill.

The experience is specifically different from an opera house. The scale of the sets is adapted to the arena, props and costumes that would be excessive in a theatre are proportionate here. Aida in Verona includes live animals, full military processions, and sets that would require a warehouse to store. The open air means occasional aircraft and other environmental sound, which opera purists mention and most audience members forget once the singing starts.

Book through the official festival website (arena.it) in advance; productions by major directors and casts sell out. Paying full price at the box office is usually possible for less popular dates.

Verona Beyond the Arena

Verona’s old city is compact and deserves a day. The Arena sits on Piazza Bra; walk north through the arches to the central Piazza dei Signori and the Scaligeri tombs (open-air Gothic funerary monuments of the ruling Della Scala family, free to see from outside the enclosure).

Juliet’s House (Casa di Giulietta) at Via Cappello 23 charges €6 entry for a small courtyard with a bronze Juliet statue. Shakespeare’s Juliet was fictional; the house is a 13th-century property with no actual connection to the story. The walls of the entrance are covered in love notes and chewing gum left by visitors. You will form a view.

The Adige River loop through the old city has good walking; the Ponte Pietra bridge is Roman, partially destroyed in WWII by retreating German forces, rebuilt from the original stones recovered from the riverbed.

Getting There

Trains from Milan take 90 minutes (regional) or 1.5-2 hours (regional stopping services); from Venice, about 75 minutes. Verona Porta Nuova station is a 15-minute walk to the Arena.

Where to Stay

Mid-range hotels in central Verona cluster around Piazza Bra. Hotel Giulietta & Romeo on Via Tre Marchetti is well-positioned and consistently reviewed. Opera week pushes prices up; staying in a guesthouse 10 minutes from the centre costs significantly less for comparable quality.