Arles Amphitheatre

Arles Amphitheatre
Arles amphitheater from the north, with one of the three medieval towers.
LocationArles, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
TypeRoman amphitheatre
Length136 m (446 ft)
Width109 m (358 ft)
Height21 m (69 ft)
History
Founded90 AD
PeriodsRoman Empire
Interior with arena

The Arles Amphitheatre (French: Arènes d'Arles) is a Roman amphitheatre in Arles, southern France. Two-tiered, it is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city which thrived in Ancient Rome. The towers jutting out from the top are medieval add-ons.

Built in 90 AD, the amphitheatre held over 20,000 spectators of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Nowadays, it draws smaller crowds for bullfighting during the Feria d'Arles,[1] as well as plays and concerts in summer.

In 1981, Arles Amphitheatre was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with other Roman and medieval buildings of the city, as part of the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments group.[2]

  1. ^ Michel Tournier, Le coq de bruyère, W. D. Redfern, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1996, p. 69
  2. ^ "Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 10 October 2021.