Roman Amphitheatre of Saintes

Saintes, France

The Santones tribe lived in the Saintonge (today Saintes) region at the time of the Gauls. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus, Saintes (Mediolanum Santonum) became the capital of the Roman province of Aquitania. Mediolanum was one of the first towns to have an amphitheatre, which was constructed during the reign of the Emperor Claudius in 40 to 50 A.D.

Like many amphitheatres in the Roman Empire, that of Saintes was built on the outskirts of the town on a site that is today called the ‘Vallon des Arènes’ (Small valley of the amphitheatre). lts builders took advantage of the local topography to construct part of the amphitheatre

The amphitheatre’s function was to seat the large number of spectators who came to watch such violent and bloodthirsty events as gladiatorial combats and wild animal hunts. Within this large elliptical structure, which is 126 metres long and 102 metres wide, several thousand people – a large part of the local population – couId be seated.

Today, in spite of the disappearance of its superstructures, the remains give an extremely good idea of what this amphitheatre looked like at its peak. The site is now open for visitors to discover throughout the year.

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Details

Founded: 40-50 AD
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in France
Historical period: Roman Gaul (France)

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Sébastien Ltze (3 months ago)
Only in France would a place like this be closed on a Sunday. Lots of people were trying to visit during the short time we were there, but all of them were shocked it was closed. We could see it from the outside, but nothing more.
Oliver Fryer (4 months ago)
Lovely place to visit and inexpensive too. Doesn't take very long but so unexpected to find such a wonderful amphitheatre in the west of France.
Radek Dohnal (5 months ago)
Ruins of roman amphitheatre. Not in good conditions, but its in reconstruction now. Low entrance fee, you can pay by card. Small gift shop. They have nice children playground with games from roman times - recommended try it. They offer 3D glasses but its only drone images, not historically animation.
Ian Walshaw (6 months ago)
An impressive example of Roman engineering and architecture. Unfortunately it was undergoing restoration work so access was limited to a small part of the site. Entrance fee is very reasonable as it also gives access to 3 other museums in the town.
김TH (8 months ago)
The interior was under construction and submerged in water, so I saw it from the outside. Of all the Roman amphitheaters I've seen, it was the place that felt the passage of time the most.
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