Bestseller
Verona: City Card with Arena Priority Entrance
From 30,00 €
Buy the ticket
One of the symbols of the city of Verona and an absolute must-see during a visit to the Veneto city is the Arena. Unlike many other buildings from Roman times, the Verona Arena is one of the ancient amphitheatres that has come down to us with a good degree of preservation. Its origins seem to date back to around the middle of the 1st century A.D. although there are various theories about it.
What we do know for sure is that the Arena was built outside the city walls to allow the population to attend the performances that were organised here. From studies it seems that this was the theatre in which different types of spectacles took place such as gladiator fights or hunting shows between ferocious animals known as venationes. Today, the Verona Arena is one of the most famous theatres in the world and internationally renowned artists also perform in theatre and music shows here.
The Arena of Verona has an elliptical plan that Roman architects had taken from the theatres of ancient Greece, but made several modifications to the structure. Its elliptical shape is also typical of other theatres of the time and thanks to its size, it is estimated that the complex could seat up to 30,000 people. In fact, the stage was in the centre while the spectators no longer sat in a semicircle but surrounded the stage, occupying all the tiers around it at 360 degrees.
The outer ring of the Arena was unfortunately largely destroyed and we can now only admire intact a small portion known as the Ala, which consists of four arches. Around 500 A.D., in fact, part of the outer ring was destroyed to make way for the construction of the city’s second ring of walls. In later years, the Arena was left in a state of neglect and on several occasions used as a stone quarry. Only one architectural order is used in the façade: Tuscanic. Externally, the Arena consists of three superimposed orders of arcades and was built with blocks of ammonitic limestone, which was very common in the Verona area.
It is now known that at the beginning of the 1st century Verona was a very large city, comparable in size and population to Mediolanum (Milan). Moreover, it was strategically located along the Adige River and was crossed by the Via Claudia Augusta, a road that led to the Brenner Pass and allowed connections with northern Europe. For these reasons, Verona was a very busy city and the Arena was built to accommodate a large number of spectators who were not only its citizens. Its large size made it the fourth largest Roman theatre in Italy after the Colosseum, the amphitheatre in Campania and the one in Milan.
The interior of the amphitheatre is composed of two main parts: in the centre is the arena, where performances took place, and all around it is the tiered cavea that housed the audience. The most majestic entrance to the amphitheatre is the western one towards Porta Borsari and the Via Postumia, where the central vault is twice as high as the others. This suggests that the western sector was the most important one. During the Renaissance period, restoration work was carried out that redid part of the cavea’s tiers, eliminating some of the corridors that separated the various sectors.
The Verona Arena currently hosts a rich programme of operas, concerts and theatre performances during the summer season. While the complex used to be able to seat up to 30,000 people, today there are approximately 20,000 seats, but during performances the seating capacity ranges from 13,000 to 15,000 depending on the staging.
The current Arena set-up is different from the one used in ancient Rome. Now a stage with scenery is erected on one side, while the other side is occupied by the audience sitting in a semicircle in the tiers of seats.
You can buy tickets for the Verona Arena online or at the Arena ticket offices. The cost of the tickets for the Verona Arena is:
The Arena is one of the most visited attractions in Italy and, of course, the main one in Verona: it is therefore not surprising to see long queues at the ticket offices. For this reason, the City of Verona has made the VeronaCard available, which, in addition to the skip-the-line ticket for the Arena, includes other attractions in the city at an affordable price. We recommend it!
Alternatively, take part in a guided tour that includes the entrance ticket to the Arena: choose the one that suits you best. For just a few euros more you will have the chance to discover the history and details of the Arena thanks to an expert guide.
If you want to admire the Arena from a different point of view, choose the ticket that includes a show: you can attend operas such as Aida, Carmen or La Traviata!
The visiting hours for the Verona Arena are as follows:
On days when performances are scheduled the closure may be brought forward.
The Verona Arena is located in the city centre. Those travelling by car along the A4 Milan-Venice motorway can exit at Verona Sud and then follow the signs for the city centre. Those travelling along the A22 Brennero – Modena have to reach the junction with the A4 towards Venice and then take the exit Verona Sud.
Those travelling by train can get off at Verona Porta Nuova station, which is served by regional, intercity and high-speed trains. From the station it is only a few minutes’ walk to the site.
The Arena can also be reached from other nearby locations or from Lake Garda via bus lines of the Azienda Trasporti Verona (ATV). The Arena is also served by several city lines that operate in the evenings.
Since ancient times Verona has been a populous and wealthy city thanks to its strategic position at the centre of the most important communication routes. For this reason, important buildings, temples and places of entertainment were built in the city. Among these was the Arena, which was the place for gladiatorial fights, a form of entertainment now widespread throughout ancient Rome.
Not only battles between gladiators but also venationes (animal battles) and naumachie (naval battles) were staged. Roman politicians organised these increasingly elaborate and majestic events to try to gain public acceptance. According to some historians, it is possible that the amphitheatre was also used for the martyrdom of some Christians. Roman architects based on the plan of the Greek Theatre had decided to modify that structure to accommodate twice as many visitors. In Roman amphitheatres, in fact, the stage was in the centre while all around it sat the audience on concentric tiers of seats.
The Arena in Verona was built around the 1st century A.D. outside the city centre, approximately 60-70 metres south of the walls near Porta Borsari and Porta Leoni, two important entrances to the city. According to artefacts found nearby, there may have been a school for gladiators who trained here for shows. With the spread of Christianity, gladiator fights were banned and thus the Arena lost some of its importance. Although in the Middle Ages it was used for brief periods as a theatre, unfortunately for many years the Verona Arena was left in a state of decay. An outer part was destroyed with the construction of the walls, while the archways were used as shops, workshops and sometimes even for prostitution houses.
In the 16th century during the rule of the Venetian Republic, the administration decided to restore the Arena to its former glory. It is thanks to these renovations that this ancient complex has come down to us. Once the work was completed, the Arena began to be used again for theatrical performances.
The first opera performance in the Arena, however, took place in 1913 when Verdi’s Aida was performed. Since then, the most important names in music such as Maria Callas, Pavarotti and Placido Domingo have performed here, making it one of the most important opera houses in the world.
The Arena of Verona is located in Piazza Brà in the heart of the Scaliger city. A short distance from the Arena are other attractions such as Juliet's House, Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori.
City Card allow you to save on public transport and / or on the entrances to the main tourist attractions.
Hotel 
Budget accommodations 
Apartments 
Family Hotel 
Luxury Hotel 
Resorts