Early evening reflections after heavy rain in Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, the public open space created in 1830 on the site of the elliptical 10,000-seat Roman amphitheatre in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Four arched tunnels through the ochre-coloured medieval dwellings built on top of the Roman ruins allow views of their convex rear walls, with brick and stone rubble filling massive Roman arches that once supported the cavea or seating.
Lucca, Tuscany, Italy: reflections of ancient Rome … as a burst of evening sunlight replaces heavy rain, the black paving slabs filling Piazza dell’Anfiteatro reflect the curving ochre-painted walls of medieval houses built on the remains of the city’s Roman amphitheatre, an elliptical stadium that once seated up to 10,000 spectators. Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and it became a Roman colony, at first named Luca, in 180 BC. The Roman street plan is still apparent in the rectangular grid of the city centre and Piazza San Michele occupies the site of the Roman forum. The amphitheatre, built in the 1st or 2nd century BC, stood just outside the Roman city walls, with its cavea or tiered seating raised on 55 arches. The arena floor is now some three meters (10 ft) below the paving in the piazza. The amphitheatre fell into ruin after the Roman Empire collapsed. It became a quarry for building materials and was completely stripped of its exterior cladding and columns. In 1830, architect Lorenzo Nottolini created the paved open space within the oval by demolishing buildings that then stood there. His aim was to provide the city with a new market place, but the attractive piazza is now ringed by restaurants, pavement cafés, antique shops and other businesses. The archway pictured is one of four exits from the piazza that allow visitors to see the medieval buildings from the other side. The higher structures have convex rear walls built of brick and stone rubble filling massive Roman arches that once supported the cavea.
Size: 2533px × 3800px
Location: Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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