Cagliari’s Amphitheater, the most important of the public buildings in Roman Sardinia, with its ellipsoidal cavea, is wedged into a natural valley on the southern slopes of Buon Cammino hill.
Between the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, builders, perhaps on several occasions, carved into the rocky bank most of the bleachers, the arena, various corridors (vomitoria) and other service rooms connected to them. Building materials continued to be removed from the amphitheater until the mid-19th century, until the municipality acquired the entire area, entrusting its excavation to Canon Giovanni Spano. Also in the Cagliari monument, as in other amphitheaters, the tiers of seats appear to be divided into three orders (ima, media and summa cavea), reserved for the different social classes of which ancient Roman society was composed.
Along the corridor around the arena faced the cages (cryptae) for ferocious animals, while other rooms dug under the arena served to contain stage machinery.
Cagliari’s amphitheater had an estimated capacity of about 10,000 spectators. From the bottom of the arena, a 95-m-long corridor that is still passable crosses the rocky bank and leads to a visit to a large underground cistern located in the Capuchin Garden.
