• Travelsignposts Home
  • Country Guides
  • City Guides
  • River Cruises
  • Europe Photos
  • About Us

Italy Travel

  • Home
  • Trip Planner
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Map
  • Weather
  • Site Map
  • Destinations
  • Shopping
  • Sightseeing
  • Food
  • Getting around
  • Useful facts
  • News & Events
You are here: Home / Sightseeing / Arena di Verona – World Famous for its Spectacular Operas

Arena di Verona – World Famous for its Spectacular Operas

By Helen Page Leave a Comment

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Verona Arena – the Third Largest Roman Amphitheatre is Famous for its Opera Festivals:

Verona Arena

Verona Arena on Piazza Bra

Although many tourists are drawn to Verona by the love story of Romeo and Juliet, one other Verona attraction that has had visitors flocking to it since Roman times is the Arena di Verona (Verona Arena). As you can see from the above image, the Verona Arena is one of the best preserved ancient amphitheatres of its kind and it is also the third largest in Italy.

Verona Arena

The Arena di Verona was built in AD30 as a venue for sports, gladiator fights and games, entertainment that the Romans enjoyed. With dimensions of 140 meters long and 100 meters wide, it is exceeded in size only by the Colosseum in Rome and the Capua Amphitheatre in Campania in the south of Italy. The 30,000 capacity amphitheatre was originally built outside the ancient city walls so that it could be easily reached by visitors arriving from outside the city. The external location also ensured that the city did not get too congested when there are events on and that the onslaught of visitors did not pose any law and order problems for the locals. The games were very popular and spectators would come from near and far to witness the competitions.

The original amphitheatre had a higher outer ring wall. With the decline of the Roman Empire, the amphitheatre fell into disrepair. An earthquake in the 12th century destroyed most of the outer ring of which there are only four arches left standing, which you can see to the left of the picture above. The destroyed outer wall was used as building material. It was only in the 19th century that there was renewed interest in using the amphitheatre as a venue for performances.

Verona Opera Festival

Verona Arena

Aida photo by Vivaverdi/CCAS

In 1913 the Verona Arena was chosen to stage Verdi’s Aida to mark 100 years since his birth. From that time on, the Arena di Verona became famous the world over for its spectacular Verona Opera Festival. Each year between four to six opera productions are staged from June to August and many opera singers’ careers were launched through performing in Verona. During the winter months, the amphitheatre is used by the local opera and ballet companies.

For those who love opera, an evening at the atmospheric Arena di Verona is an unforgettable experience. In addition to enjoying the drama of famous and popular operas like Carmen, Aida, Turondot, Masked Ball, etc., it is mind-boggling to know that two thousand years ago, the ancient Romans used to sit in these same spots to enjoy shows here as well, but of a different nature. And for the romantics, what an experience it would be to enjoy Romeo and Juliet in this historic venue. And you don’t have to blow your budget to enjoy an opera in Verona. The venue has a capacity of 15,000 and the tickets for the upper level stone steps are much cheaper. Just remember to bring your own cushion or a jumper to sit on.

The opera season runs from June through August and if you’re planning on attending an opera in Verona, do book early for the best seats.
Book upcoming operas at the Verona Area Here.

If you’re not into operas, you can still visit the Verona Arena when it is not in use for opera performances.
Entry: €3.10
Hours: Tue-Sun: 09:00 – 19:00 | Mon: 13:45 – 19:30

Address:
Arena di Verona
Piazza Bra, 1
Verona

Things to do in Verona

Click here to get a free PDF of this post

Your Turn: Do you have any advice you would like to share? What tips would you like to add? Please comment below.
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Sightseeing Tagged With: arena di verona, verona arena, verona arena tickets, verona music and opera, verona opera

avatar

About Helen Page

Helen Page is a prolific blogger and ardent traveller; she runs Travelsignposts with her professional writer and photographer husband Tony.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Additions

  • Giant Street Art adds spice to Rome’s Creative Scene
  • How to make Orecchiette pasta – The Favourite Ears of Puglia
  • Dinner in the Lair of a Giant Octopus!
  • Grandstand View of Il Campo, Siena
  • A Unique Tableware Find in Venice

Plan and Book Your Trip


eNews and Updates

feedburner Sign up now to get emailed news as well as other site updates!

Get the Guerrilla Travel Photography ebook here now!
City Guides
Country Guides
River Cruises

Who is behind Travelsignposts?

Helen and Tony Page at Singapore Changi Airport

We're Helen and Tony Page, and we love travelling - lucky as we've been doing it for the last few decades!

Tony has long been a professional photographer and writer, but Helen now writes most of the posts and takes a lot of photos herself!

Travelsignposts is our main travel planning site, but we've just launched Travelsignposts China and Tony also runs the Travelsignposts Photo and Guerrilla Travel Photography web sites, as well as publishing the Take Better Digital Photos and Guerrilla Travel Photography eBooks.

Read more about Helen and Tony or contact them.

Other Countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Devon & Cornwall
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Europe (General)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Resources

  • Take Better Digital Photos eBook Take Better Digital Photos eBook
  • Take Better Digital Photos Free eCourse
  • Travel Signposts Photo – our main travel photography site
  • Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook

Copyright © 2021 Travelsignposts Pty Ltd · All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Service   |   Affiliate Disclaimer   |   Log in

Get a free PDF of this post!
Just enter your email address below and we'll send it to you immediately.

Please enter your Email Address