
 
 <^\J
 
 t'NIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
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 I.
 
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 Compleat History 
 
 Of the Ancient 
 
 AMPHITHEATRES. ^ 
 
 More peculiarly Regarding 
 
 The Architecture of thofe Buildings, 
 
 And in Particular J 
 
 That of VE R O N A. 
 
 By the Marquis Scipio Maffe^. 
 
 Made En^ijh from the Italian Original 
 
 By ALEXANT>ER GORT>ON, A.M, 
 
 Adorned with Sculptures. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Some Account of this Learned Work: 
 
 which Contains likewife, 
 
 I. A Succind Hiftory of Gla- 
 diators y and Gladiatory-Shews i 
 with their Origin and Pro- 
 grefs. 
 
 II. Of Infer iptions relating to 
 Amphitheatres. 
 
 III. The Manner of Baiting 
 fVild-BeaJis among the An- 
 cients. 
 
 IV. Of Subterraneous Conduits, 
 and other Aqu^du^s, 
 
 V. A Dete^ion of the Errors of 
 
 Lipfius, Fontana» and others 
 who have written upon this 
 Subject 
 
 VI. The Deftroyers of Ancient 
 Monuments expofedj efpe- 
 cially fome under the Pontifi- 
 cate of the late Pope Bene- 
 dict XIIL 
 
 VII. An Account of Genuine 
 M £ D A L s i and a Defcrip- 
 tion of the moft Remarkably 
 Structures of the Ancients, 
 
 LONDON; 
 
 Printed for Harmen Noorthouck, in the Great^^iazza^ 
 Covent-Garden. M.DCCXXX, 
 
 Price 6 s,
 
 
 
 T O 
 
 GEORGE BOWS 
 
 Of Streatleham-Cajiky Efq; 
 
 CD 
 
 F a Defcent from an II- 
 luftrious Race of Patriots, 
 fuch as Camden is Wit- 
 nefs that your Predecef- 
 fors have been ; if the PofTeffion of a 
 ^ Plentiful Fortune, of a Numerous and 
 Pov/erful Friendfliip, and of a Ge- 
 neral Efteem, were fufEcient to ren- 
 der a Man happy; there are very 
 few that would have a greater Share 
 A 2 of
 
 iv DEDICATION. 
 
 of Felicity than your felf : But you 
 are fenfible, Sir, that the beft Judges 
 of Human Nature would not efteem 
 you fuch, notwithftanding thefe Ad- 
 vantages, did you not poffefs the 
 Nobler Endowments of the Mind. 
 Thefe are the Qualities that improve 
 the Gentleman, a mere amiable Cha- 
 rader, into that of the higheft Uti- 
 lity, the Patriot : 'Tis by thefe alone 
 that Honours, Riches, and Intereft 
 become ufeful, and conduce not on- 
 ly to the Happinefs of the Pofleflbr, 
 but to that of Mankind in general ; 
 'tis by thefe, that a Man not only dif- 
 penfes Good in his own Time, but 
 entails a lafting and improveable Fe- 
 licity on After-Ages. 
 
 THE Advantage of your Patronage 
 to this Piece, might here be a fuffi- 
 cient Reafon for a Dedication, had I 
 not been affeded with a much ftrong- 
 er Motive, the Defire I have of de- 
 claring to the World how much I 
 am indebted to your Bounty « I am 
 
 fenfible
 
 DEDICATION V 
 
 fenfible that this Performance is a^ 
 very fmall Return for the Favours 
 I've received ; and yet I fhould think 
 my Labour very well beftowed, could 
 I deferve the leaft Part of that Ap- 
 probation you will give the Learned 
 Author of the Original. I have this 
 at leaft in my favour, that 'tis much 
 more difficult to tranllate than to 
 compofei 
 
 THAT you may long live, and con- 
 tinue to be the Patron of Learning 
 and Virtue, and the Happinels of fuch 
 as are honoured with your Friend- 
 fhip, is the lincere Wifh of, 
 
 S I Ry 
 
 Your moji Humble and 
 moji Obliged Servant^ 
 
 Alexander GoRDONe
 
 (vi) 
 
 P R E F AC E. 
 
 r 
 
 HE great Figure the Marquis 
 Scipio Maffei makes in the 
 Learned World^ and the juji 
 Fame he has acquired by the 
 many excellent Works he has ' 
 publifhed^ made me anxious to fee this 
 his^'laft 'Performance on the ancient Am- 
 phitheatres ; ^jvhich by a diligent Teru-. 
 fdl I found of the greater Importance^ as ' 
 it: was handled isijith that fuperior Share^ 
 of. Learning, Truth and Accuracy^ which 
 runs throughout the Whole. 
 
 The Author \phofi chief faulty if any 
 at all, feems to be J hat becoming Modefty 
 which is the fur ef Eiiidence.ofgoodSenfe^ 
 and what commonly attends Merit'\ has 
 not prefix d his Na-ine to his Treatife^ tho 
 by the elegant Manner ii which, the Tiece 
 is conduced J none ^jers\i in Italian Anti- 
 qmty can be at a lofs^ on read^mg^ to judge 
 tt the' Work of the ahn^.emmtiond Gentle- 
 man i and indeed it certainly was compiled 
 by him. 
 
 The
 
 PREFACE. vii 
 
 The Editor of the original Treat ife inltd,- 
 ii^n^gives theTublicto mderftandin hisTre- 
 facey that it was defignedto be the laft Tome 
 of a TVorky which the Author intended to 
 puhlifh under the Title of Verona Illuftrata, 
 tho now it happens to be thefirjt : and the 
 Reafon given^ is^ becaufe this Treatife on 
 the Amphitheatres waSy hefays^with great 
 Earnejtnefs fought after by the Curious in. 
 fever al parts of Europe -, for which reafon 
 he prevailed on the Author, [whoy he adds; 
 isfufficiently well known'] to give him the 
 Copy that it might be pibUjbed apart, and 
 without delay. 
 
 He likewife tells us, that by giving fuch 
 an Account of the Work, the Reader may 
 know the Reafon why he did not print it 
 in a larger Volume 5 nay, even in Folio^ 
 as fome defired it might, there being fa 
 many who in this Age love cojily Terfor- 
 mancesy as if, fays hcy a Book had not its 
 great eft Value from the Matter it contaitis^ 
 but from the Trice alone, - He likewife 
 addsy that the Treatife, as it was printed 
 in the original Vi2M2iny is fuited to the Size 
 of the other TomeSy that are to be pub- 
 lijhedy and to the Copper-plates in them^ 
 which tho fmally are however not lefs fa- 
 tisfaEiory with regard to their illuft rating 
 the Subje6iy nor are they in the main lefs 
 valuable 5 and he appeals to the Curious,, 
 whether it is not better topublijh the Trints 
 ■A- 4 relating
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 relating to the Amphitheatres in a fmall 
 Size^ than in a manner too much praaifed 
 at prefent^ which muft be aifrt>lifhed^ by thofe 
 -j^fjo truly underftand Jntiquity ; by which 
 he means the pompous ^ji'oy fome Teople 
 have taken of publijhing Ornaments and 
 Tarts to Remains of Antiquity ^ which ne- 
 ver belonged to them. 
 
 The fame Editor fubjoins^ that by the 
 Form in which the Cuts in theli^lhn Ori- 
 ginal are exhibited^ [which are the fame 
 with thefe in this Booli\ the learned St ran^- 
 ger travelling in Italy, may have the Tlea-^ 
 fure of carrying the Book in his Tocket ; 
 fo that at whatever time he vifits the an^ 
 cient Monuments themfelves^ from which 
 the whole is taken^ he may thereby be able 
 to examine and fee if what is reprefented 
 in the Treat ife be according to Truth and 
 ExaBnefs, 
 
 This being the Subflance of what the 
 Italian Tublijher fays inhisTreface^ I (hall 
 not for my part anticipate the Satisfabion 
 which the learned Reader will have inper- 
 iijing the Treatife itfelf: I [ball therefore 
 only fay iyi general^ iho' with T>eference 
 to the Opinion of better Judges^ that there 
 are few Books of fo finall a Size^ wherein 
 there appear more Erudition^ Truth or Ac^ 
 curacy ; For not only has the Author given 
 the Arckitetionic Tarts of the Buildings 
 as examined by hmifelf on the Spot^ but as 
 3 tneafured
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 meafured with his own Hands in the mofi 
 exaEi manner imaginable ^ as will foon ap- 
 pear in reading the Book itfelf. There is 
 a great 'Difference therefore between the 
 Marquis MafFei, and others who have wrote 
 before him on the Subject ^fince they having 
 relied on the Accounts they had from fe- 
 cond Hands ^ and at a diftance, have there- 
 by not only been mijled themfelves^ but 
 mifguided other s^^ who copying from them^ 
 have only contributed to multiply Error. 
 But our Author^ on the contrary^ has nei- 
 ther regarded what has been [aid concern- 
 ing thefe things, thd the Affertions of 
 learned Men, nor been byafsd in any on^ 
 Tointy wherever their Accounts have in- 
 terfered with, or contradi^ed Matter of 
 Fact, always directing himfelf by the Build- 
 ings and Monuments of Antiquity flill 
 fubfifting. 
 
 And as it is certain, that the Neglect 
 of digging to the Foundations of the Am- 
 phitheaters, in order todifcover the 'Tarts 
 of thofe StruBures under Ground, has oc- 
 cafioned the Authors, who till now, have 
 treated about tkem, either to [peak fo fight - 
 ly on that Head, las if examining the 
 Foundations, was of no Importance in their 
 Accounts of the Sttperftruiture'] or if they 
 have mentioned any thing this way, their 
 Dejcriptions have of neceffity been very 
 imperfefi and erroneous -, and thereby it is 
 
 im.
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 impojjlble for their Readers to have 
 from them any true Idea of thofe mag-- 
 ntficent Edifices. Our Author has been 
 fo far frofn imitating their Example 
 in this particular y that fcarce has any 
 part belonging to the Amphitheatres 
 been exhibited with more Skill and Accu- 
 racy^ than thofe under ground. In this 
 he has fucceeded fo well., that he has given 
 an exaEi Tlan of the Foundations of the 
 Walls of the exterior and interior Inclo- 
 fares. Podium, Steps ^ fubterranneous Con- 
 duits and Apartments there ^ which he ^ews 
 ferved for various and curious Ufes $ all 
 which for t he fe fix teen or feventeen hun- 
 dred Tears have been unfearch'd for, and 
 unknown, not a little to the T>ifadvantage 
 of our modern Architects, who, if they pre- 
 tend to Elegance or Accuracy in their Art, 
 mufl learn from the School of the Ancients -, 
 and not only confider the Superftruciures^ 
 hut Itkewife defend to the Foundations of 
 their magnificent Buildings, 
 
 There is another T articular which our 
 Author {hews plainly has contributed not 
 a little to the propagating a falfe Notion 
 of Amphitheatres in general 5 and it is that 
 hinted at by the Italian Editor in his T re- 
 face juft now mentioned', that is to fay, 
 the Method that many have got into^ of 
 adding Ornaments and Tarts to ancient 
 Buildings, which never have, nor could, 
 ^ with
 
 PREFACE. xi 
 
 with any Propriety haije belonged to 
 them, and upon Exa7nination they are 
 found to be mere Chimaras^ and the Fan^ 
 cies of thofe who defire their Treatifes of 
 Antiquity fhould make a pompous Figure to 
 the Eye, and raife the popular Value of 
 their Performances. I own this is fap- 
 ping the Foundation of Truth itfelf and 
 robbing us of what is chiefly vahtable in 
 the rich Treafure of Antiquity ^ its genuine 
 Character, And I wonder the Authors of 
 fuch Fictions have not been afraid to be 
 treated by the Ingenious as Traytors to 
 Learning and Knowledge, and their Works 
 ranked in the fame Clafs that Hiftorians 
 do thofe of Annius of Vitcrbo : And I 
 am forry to fee with how much Truth our 
 Author has had occafon to reprove other 
 Antiquaries and ArchiteBs, who have but 
 too vifibly impofed their ctm.ple and nume- 
 rous FiEiions on the World for Realities ; 
 thd I ana afraid his Cenfure on them will 
 fcarce deter foyne of our modern Gentlemen^ 
 who feem to revive Antiquity much after 
 the fame Manner as Vyx\\Z'^oi[2iS remenibred 
 hispre-e^iftent State. What Miflakes have 
 been made by Lipfius, Fontana, and others^ 
 who have treated on the Subject of Am- 
 phitheatres, our Author correEis in fo mo- 
 deft and genteel a Manner, as fhews he 
 has had much Reference for the defjrved 
 great Charaifers of thefe Men, particularly 
 
 LipfmS;,
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 Lipfius, whofe ftipertor Learning andGenius 
 he greatly admires^ as he does Fontana'^ 
 Skill in ' ArchiteEiure. And indeed^ the 
 handfome manner in ^jjhich he corrects their 
 Errors^ fbews him both a Scholar and a Gen- 
 tleman : Thd the other more inconfiderable 
 Writers^ who have impofed their injudicious 
 Ornaments and FiBions on Mankind for 
 Truth s^he has reprovedw ith theSeverity they 
 deferve, as he has done another Clafs ofMeny 
 whom I may indeed rank but aT>egree higher 
 than Beajisy viz. the T)eftroyers of ancient 
 Monuments, Thefe^ he has expo fed by their 
 Names and Surnames ^ to the perpetual Re* 
 proach of Mankind-^ and may fuch as fol- 
 low their Example never meet with bet- 
 ter Ufage ! Such Inftances we have of the 
 like Brutifhnefs in the Tontificate of Benc- 
 diaXIIL the late Tope, by the T>eftruEiion 
 ^Liviax Columbarium, and the Bagnios 
 of Auguftus lately difcovered, not a little 
 to the Scandal of Rome herfelf and Re- 
 gret of the Lovers of ancient good Tajie 
 and Grandeur. 
 
 I cannot omit mentioning the Obligations 
 the Learned are under to the Marquis 
 M^.Sei, for exploding a vulgar Error y which 
 till now has been prevalent among Anti- 
 quaries and others y namely^ that in feve- 
 ral places out of Rome, and in the Roman 
 Colonies y there were a great number ofAm- 
 phitheatreSf and that the Ruins of them 
 
 are
 
 PREFACE. xiii 
 
 are ft til to be feen : whereas this very 
 Learned an4 Judicmis Author makes it 
 evident by convincing Troofs^ that there 
 never were more than three real Amphi- 
 theatres in Europe, viz. the Colifeum at 
 Rome, built by Velpafian ; the other at Ve- 
 rona, called the Arena ; and the third at 
 Capua. And he plainly proves, that the 
 others pretended to be at Nimes in Langue- 
 doc, Pola in Iftria, Syracufe in Sicily, Italica 
 in Spain, in the IJland Candia ; Puzzuola 
 near Naples, &:c. are not Amphitheatres ^ 
 but magnificent Theatres only. In how 
 judicious a manner he diftinguifhes between 
 thefe two kinds of different Edifices ^ will 
 beft appear to the Unprejudiced and Learned 
 Reader^ when he perufes the Treat ife itfelfi^ 
 and mufty I think, give a general Satifi 
 fa6lion. 
 
 But whaty in my humble Opinion^ is one 
 of the great eft Beauties and Excellencies 
 in the whole Work^ is that Learned and 
 Mafterly, but SuccinCi Manner ^ by which 
 our Author has given the ancient Hiftory 
 of Gladiators^ and Gladiatory Shews in 
 general, their Origine^ andTrogrefs through- 
 out all the different Ages he mentions ^^ 
 as likewife the Time when^ Manner hoWy 
 and End for which Amphitheatres were 
 firft built. Therein has he confulted and 
 quoted the beft Greek andKom^LU HiftorianSy 
 ^oets and others : from thefe he plainly 
 
 proves^
 
 xiv PREFACE. 
 
 proves^ that Ampkltheatres "were not a 
 Greek, kit a Roman In^'oentiGTij and that 
 no fiich Btiildlng ^^as ever in ufe in Greece. 
 jifter them he has recourfe to the IVr iters 
 in the Ages neareil to the Times of the T>e* 
 clenfw'ii of the Ruman Empire^ and rdakes 
 life of the Htnts given akoitt A^nphitheatres 
 by the Fathers^ and after the??i by fome of 
 the Monkifn Writers^ in their Lives of 
 Romifti Saints : which lafi '^Particular I hear 
 has been difreli^ied by fome Critics in this 
 Country. But all I have to fay as to that 
 Particular^ is^ that fome Truth may be 
 picked out of the mofi indifferent of fuch 
 Writers '^ befides^ the Marojiis does not 
 enter into the Merit of the Lege7ids and 
 Mi^^^l^^t ^or decide any thing about them^ 
 whether true orfalfe ; only makes ufe of the 
 Traditions found in them^ relating to Am- 
 phitheatres and Theatres in general: which 
 lafi belonged to his Sttbje^^ in giving the 
 hiftorical Account of the?n from the Times 
 wherein they were built ^ down to the pre- 
 fent Age. Nay, he is fo far from fetting 
 any Value onthofe Legends^ that in one part 
 of his Book he finds very great fault in fome 
 Writers^ in their Accounts of Amphithea- 
 tres, for laying fo great a Strefs as what 
 they do J on Books of Martyrdoms and Mi- 
 racles of Saints^ and the like. 
 
 There is another Particular^ which I 
 hear is difliked by the Critics who have 
 
 perufed
 
 PREFACE. XV 
 
 ferufed the Treatife in the original Italian, 
 and tMt is the Obfairity of the Style in 
 fome places of the Work : but as to thiSy 
 I think Allo\vances fhould be made^ con- 
 (idering the Author does not re fide in 
 that part of \kAj where they bo aft of the 
 greateft Turity in the Italian Language, 
 Befidesj by the Italian Editor^ in his T re- 
 face ^ we findy the Work was in a manner 
 hurried to the Trefs ; which we may fee 
 was the reafon^ perhaps^ not only of the Ob- 
 fcurity of the Style in fome places^ as not 
 having time to polifh it^ and render thofe 
 Tajfages fo Intelligible as the re(ly but of 
 the Author's Additions to^ or rather Omif- 
 jions oiit of the Text, which are annexed at 
 the end of the Book by way of Appendix. 
 ' I own in fome places I have found it pret- 
 ty difficult to come at the Author s true 
 Meaning y but this may rather be attribu- 
 ted ta the Intricacy of the Sttbje^y than 
 to any Ob fcurity of the Learned Compiler. 
 I have endeavour d to do him all the 
 Juftice in my "Power y nor have I been ne- 
 gligent in fljewing what I thought moji 
 intricate in the Language-, to fome very 
 good Judges ^/Italian, who have agreed 
 with me in the manner I have rendered it 
 in Englilh. And if I arrive at thefole Aim I 
 propofedby this Tranflation^ namely y to make 
 the Subftance and Scope of the truly Learned 
 Author known to the Curious in Britain, who 
 are not Mafters of the Italian, I ^all think 
 my own Labour therein wellbefiowed. I
 
 xvi PREFACE. 
 
 I fhall conclude this Treface by adding 
 what I think is but the Marquis Maffei'^ 
 juft due h which is^ that there does not only 
 appear a vajl Fund of Erudition through" 
 out almoji every Tart of the Work^ but what 
 is mofi fatisfahory of all ^ thofe things which 
 are ofthegreateft Importance to the SubjeB^ 
 are not only illujlrated^ but demonftratedy 
 from what the Author hasfeen in, or meafu- 
 redfromtheMonumentsthemfelvesi or, from 
 genuine Medals and Infer ipt ions 5 lahich are 
 the true Criterion by which Truth in matters 
 of Antiquity are known and dijiinguifhed 
 from Faljhood. All which-, I humbly thinky 
 is done not a little to the Satisfaction of thofe 
 who delight in ancient Learning and things 
 of elegant Tafie, and who have Tleafure in 
 feeingtrue Views exhibited^andaperfeCi'De' 
 fcr ipt ion given of the moji fumptuous andftu- 
 pendous Structures of the Ancients. 
 
 DIRECTIONS for placing the CUTS. 
 
 . Plate I. To front the Title-?age. 
 
 . II. In Chap. XL — ^ Pag- i*5 
 
 III. Before Book 11. — - -*- 190 
 
 • IV. In Chfip. II. — zof 
 
 V. Ihid. — — .^110 
 
 VI. In Chap. III. 22Z 
 
 -VII. In Chap. IV. 229 
 
 VIII. To front C^/«;>. VI. — — 242 
 
 IX. At the End of a/>/. VIII. 282 
 
 X. In Chap. IX. — . 289 
 
 , XI. In Chap. XI. ■ — » 302 
 
 XII. In C^/>/>. XIV. —,35-2 
 
 XIII. To front Chap. XV. 3f7 
 
 XIV. Chap.XVl. — $7f 
 
 ,«— XV. l^d. — — 199
 
 mm 
 
 ^^:^iti/^ 
 
 O F 
 
 AMPHITHEATRES; 
 
 And particularly of that of 
 
 V E R N A 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the Original of GLADIATORS 
 in Rome. 
 
 T muft in particular be allowed, 
 that the Grandeur and Elegancy 
 of the ancient Edifices, are 
 among thole things, which are 
 now more to be admired than 
 imitated. 
 Amphitheatres, with regard to Magnifi- 
 cence and Bulk, Workmanfhip and Art, 
 were certainly fuperior to all the others ; 
 and indeed the well comprehending the 
 
 B Nature
 
 2 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Nature of fuch Struftures, is no kfs enter- 
 taining than uieful, efpecially for illuftrating 
 
 Hiftoiy. 
 
 It is a receivM Opinion, that nothing 
 more ean well be faid on this Subjed, after 
 what is already publilhed by fo many 
 Writers, particularly ^h/^us Upfiiis^ who, 
 I own, has treated the Matter w^ith Judg- 
 ment and Learning, and after Carlo Fontmia^ 
 whofe large Volume thereon was lately 
 printed in Holland. But not to derogate 
 from the Praifes due to each of thefe Au- 
 thors, I believe 1 fhall be able plainly to 
 fnew, that the Struflure of thofe Fabricks 
 has not, as yet, been well underftood in 
 the moil ingenious Parts of them. The 
 Aftair lying hitherto in Obfcurity, and not 
 fearched after in what is m.oft effential, be- 
 caufe it never has been treated in Order, 
 nor purged from the many falfe Opinions 
 prevalent in all the Books wrote on the 
 Subjed, which prove detrimental to other 
 Branches of Learning ; tho' from a right 
 underfl:anding of this, depends the Know- 
 ledge of many Places in both facred and 
 profane Writers \ fo that inch an Enquiry 
 will be found of more real Benefit than 
 what many are aware of: For w^hich Rea- 
 fon we dill endeavour here to trace the 
 AiEiir from its firit Source. 
 
 The Publick Shews exhibited in the 
 Combats of Wild Pkafts one with the other, 
 
 and
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 2 
 
 and not that of Gladiators, were the true 
 Motives for firft ereaing Amphitheatres. 
 Gladiatory Combats, 'tis true, were long in 
 Ufe at Rome^ though at that Time they 
 never thought of building fuch Fabricks ; 
 but as foon as remote Countries were con- 
 ^ quered, and the Victors polTefled of Power 
 and Riches, then began new Kinds of 
 Diverfions and Pleafures to be invented, and 
 a Dcfire in People to fee Beafts fight fiercely 
 with one another, which till then were un- 
 known in our Climate, hence they began to 
 think of ereding Amphitheatres. 
 
 In effect, the moll famous Amphitheatre 
 of any, was, as ^ Dlo relates, begun by an 
 Emperor who held Gladiators in no manner 
 of Eftecm ; the Name given to thofe 
 Edifices when firft built, was I'hsatrum 
 Venatortum^ or the Theatre for Hunting, 
 as will foon appear, and which Name was 
 retained by ^ Ca£iodorns \ fo that it was 
 not the Combats of Gladiators, but the 
 Fighting of wild Beafts, which was under- 
 ftood by the Word Hunting. ^Tis true. 
 Amphitheatres ferved afterwards for the 
 one as well as the other : But as the Ufe of 
 having gladiatory Combats was fo much 
 anterior to the other, we ftiall therefore firft 
 of all mention Ibmething Goacerning them. 
 
 • V. Xephil, in Vefp. 
 
 * Var, lib. /. 42, Theatrnm Venattrmm. 
 
 B 2 A Mo-
 
 4 Of Amphitheatres.' 
 
 A Motive in Religion paved the Way 
 firft to this celebrated Inftitution, namely, 
 that moft ancient Opinion, That the Souls 
 of the Deceafed, who were in a certain 
 Manner deified by leaving the Body, de- 
 lighted in human Blood ^ and that the 
 Slaughter of Men, by way of Sacrifice in 
 Honour of them, rendered them propitious, 
 or at leaftplcafed, and their Wrath appeas'd, 
 as if flain to fatisfy their Revenge. This 
 Opinion occafioned great Cruelty to fall on 
 the Prifoners of War : And as to its An- 
 tiquity, in one of ^ Homer's moft confider- 
 able Poems, we find that Achilles flew 
 Twelve of the young frojan Nobility at 
 the Pile of Patrocliis : But as ^ Servhis ob- 
 ferves, the maffacring Men in fuch a 
 Ihocking Manner, appearing too inhuman, 
 they thought fit to introduce a Pradice 
 fomething like it, by way of Combat ; 
 and this feems to be hinted by Herodotus^ 
 in his Account of the fhraclans \ but that 
 Paflage bears, perhaps, another Meaning, 
 the Author fpeaking only of thofe Contefts 
 and funeral Games to which Rewards were 
 annexed : So that notwithftanding 5 Lip^ 
 Jius believes it, yet I cannot be of Opinion, 
 that the Origine of thofe Gladiators, called 
 7'hraclj or fhraclans^ is to be deduced from 
 
 3 Jlhd, '^ Ad JEn, X. quod pofy'iam CruMe -uU 
 
 fum, O'c, ^ Silt, 
 
 thence.
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 5 
 
 thence. ^ Dyillus from Athenceiis writes, 
 that Cajfander (at the Funeral of jirtdeus 
 King of Macedonj and his Wife) caufed 
 four Soldiers to combat with one another ; 
 yet this is thought no Proof that the Gla- 
 diators came originally from Greece to Ro??ie. 
 The Fad related by Dyillus is, I own, An- 
 gular ; but neither did this Wage begin in 
 Greece^ much lefs take Footing there, by 
 way of Publick Shew. We know very 
 well, that among fo many Kinds of Exer- 
 cifes at the Olympicfc Games, there never 
 were any gladiatory Combats. In ^ Vttru^ 
 vtus we read, that thePiaz2as or open Places 
 in Italy ^ were made in a different Manner 
 from thofe in Greece y and for a Ufe handed 
 down to them from their Fore-fathers, 
 namely for exhibiting therein their famous 
 Publick Shews \ which however were 
 never feen in Greece^ unlefs brought thither 
 from Rprm : Yet I remeniber a Paffage in 
 * Luc'ian^ which has made many be- 
 lieve, that even in ancient Times both 
 Gladiators and Wild Beafts were in Ufe 
 on the Theatre of Athens ; but one may 
 plainly fee, that Account of the foxari is 
 fabulous. We know from Livy.y that 
 Perfeus the laft King of Macedon^ was the 
 firft who inftitutcd Gladiators in Greece^ 
 whom he made come from Kome thither, 
 
 ? Urm» l,uc, 9. ' L,j:. C.I, 5 ^^ ^<'^* 
 
 B 3 niore
 
 4 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 more for the ' Terror than Pleafure of that 
 People, who were unaccuftomed to fuch 
 kinds 'of Shews ^ nor for all that, did that 
 King continue them there, nor after him 
 were they eftablilhed in any Part of Greece ; 
 for if fo, we ftiould have had frequent 
 mention thereof in Writers ; nay, fuch 
 kind of Reprefentations would be feen re- 
 maining on the Grecian Monuments of An- 
 tiquity. In procefs of Time, 'tis true, 
 Corinth received thofe Exercifes ; but that 
 City having been intirely deftroy'd by 
 Lucius Mummius^ defar was obliged to re- 
 people it with new Colonies from Rome^ as 
 * Dio tells us : And ^ Panfanias avers, 
 That • in his Time there was no Corinthian 
 Inhabitant there at all, and none but 
 Romavs fent thither on purpofe from Rome. 
 
 The ^the/jiansy when at Variance with 
 Corinth^ fometimes called in the Romans to 
 their Afliflance ; but as it appears by 
 3 Lucian^ they were diffuaded therefrom by 
 Demouattesj and ^ Dion Chryjojlomus 
 greatly blames . thofe Greeks for having fuf- 
 fered the Romans to come among them. 
 
 The Romans did therefore, 'tis plain, 
 not receive the aforefaid Ufage from the 
 Greeksj but from the Italians^ or rather 
 
 ^ Llb» 41, cum terror e kominum mfuetorum fid tale fpeBd- 
 euhijn. ^ Dio L ^i, ^' fatif, in Cer. 3 m vit. 
 
 Demon, * Orat, 31, 
 
 Hetru-*
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 7 
 
 Hetrunans^ among whom it was a peculiar 
 and immemorial Inftitiuion, 
 
 5 y^ttravhis tells us, that thofe kinds of 
 Publick Shews were originally ItdUari^ and 
 handed down to the Inhabitants of Itcily by 
 their Fore-fathers. The Truth of this ap- 
 pears very evident, by the Figures upon 
 the fepulchral Monuments of the Hctni- 
 rians^ nothing being oftner feen there than 
 fuch kinds of Combats, and Men in the 
 Attitudes of killing one another with 
 Knives and Swords, and other various and 
 uncommon Weapons ; all which may be ob^ 
 ferved in the great Collection of Hetrnricn 
 Antiquities made lately at Florence. 
 
 Thofe Combats were not only in ufe at 
 Funerals ; but likewile at their Feafts, 
 Duels were appointed for Amufement and 
 Pieafure ; as ^ Athenceiis mentions, fpeak- 
 ing of the Inhabitants of the Campagua^ 
 who were Hetnifci or Hetrurians, Erato ft e-r 
 7ies from the fame Author fays, That thofe 
 People ufcd to fight at the Sound of "^ Flutes ; 
 but the ^\ ord here Iccms rather to impbf 
 Boxers, though the Context itfclf indicates 
 Gladiators, in which Senfe Cafauhon under- 
 Jftood it ; here likewife Atheucciis quotes, the 
 following Words of tlie old Hiftorian 
 s Nicholaus Damafcemis^ v/ho fays, that 
 
 B 4 7hi
 
 8 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Th(i gladiatory Shews were exhibited by the 
 Romans, not only at their piblick Meetings^ 
 and on their Theatres j taking the Ctiflomfrom 
 the Hetrurians ^ but they ujed them at their 
 Feafts alfo. 
 
 By this Paffage, ? Ltpjius fufpecled that 
 the Inftitution was originally Greek^ be- 
 caufe » He)yi2ifpiis faid, That the Mantinel 
 were the Inventers of Duels j but one may 
 fairly ask, How far we muft defere to his 
 Authority ? Or, what does he underftand 
 by the Word "- Duellers ^ Surely fome- 
 thing very different from gladiatory Shews ! 
 We have^ I think, fufficiently demonftrated 
 in our 1 reatife about the Primitive Italiansy 
 annexed to the Hiftory of Diplomas^ that 
 the Hetrurians otherwise alio had not their 
 Inftitutions and Arts from the Grecians* 
 3 IJidorus affirmed, that even the Word 
 Lanifta^ given to thofe who bought, main- 
 tained, and trained the Gladiators to fighting, 
 was Hetrurian^ and in that Language fig- 
 nified a Hangman. 
 
 The fame '^ Author believed alfo, that 
 the Gladiators, called Velites^ were lb 
 named from an Hetrurian City. This 
 efcaped Lipjtus's Obfervation, when other- 
 wife he very learnedly illuftrates the 
 Matter, and enumerates the different Kinds 
 
 9 Sat. * term, lib. i. ^.8. ^ ^ ^;^»^%»j'7!yF. 
 
 ^ Ori^. /' 10, Carnifex Tufca lingua. ^ L, i%* c, j-;. 
 
 of
 
 Of Amphitheatres* 9 
 
 of them ; but upon one of ^ FahrettW 
 antique Stones we have them pointed out, 
 and ranged among the other ClaflTes of 
 Gladiators ; and I find them plainly named 
 in Ovid^ where he fays, 
 
 Utqtie fetit primo plenum flavent Is arenas 
 'Nondiim calfacll velitis hciflajolam j 
 
 'Twa5 the Bufinefs of thofe Felites to begin 
 the Games, as it was of tlie Military ones, to 
 make the iirft Onfet at Battles, and iO be 
 nimble and expeditious like them. Ijidore 
 further fays, That in their Combats, the 
 Clafliing of their Spears, was more agreeable 
 to the Spectators than any of che others. 
 1 he Flaveris Arena^ mentioned by OSid^ 
 indicates the Ufage related by * Pltny^ of 
 their mixing Crifocolla or Terraverd with 
 the Sand : For my Part, I believe that 
 they were the fame kind of Gladiators 
 fpoke of in that Paffcge of 7 Arthnedorus^ 
 where he diftindly mentions them; only 
 in the Place of ir^^dzlopj as we find in 
 Print, it fhould be read irpoSofi^rocj a Pro* 
 voker or Challenger : That it ought to bear 
 this Reading, appears to me plain, becaufe 
 the firft Word is not to be found in cither 
 Greek or Latw ; and I have with Pleaiure 
 fince, fearch'd for a very curious « Manu- 
 fcript thereof in the publick Library of 
 
 5 ^ U'ld, ^ I.. 3 J« c, j-. ' L, 2. c 3 3. * Coil. i*S-S^ 
 
 St.
 
 to Of Amphitheatres.' 
 
 St. Mark^ in which I found its Reading in 
 the laft manner. The gladiatory Clafs of 
 Challengers is mentioned by ' CicerOy 
 wherein 'tis ftiewn, that thofe were the 
 fame, called Felitess who, as the very 
 Word implies, firft began the Games, 
 challenging and provoking the others to 
 Fight ; but becaufe they did not Hand 
 their Ground ; but turned and ran to and 
 fro, Artimcdorus fays, to dream of them, 
 denoteth a wanton, pliable Woman. 
 
 Gladiatory Exercifes, 'tis certain, were 
 particular Ufages among the moft ancient 
 Inhabitants of Italy^ not only as they 
 imagined them agreeable to the Dead, but 
 diverting to the Living; being well adapted 
 to their fierce and warlike Genius ; nay, 
 perhaps, they imagined that fuch Things 
 might contribute not a little to excite 
 Courage in the People. ' Plhiy the 
 Toimger was • of Opinion, that fuch kind 
 of Shews were proper to infpire Fortitude, 
 and make Men defpife Wounds and Death, 
 fhewing that even the loweft Rank of 
 Mankind were amjDitious of Victory and 
 Praife. 
 
 This Cuftom being introduced among 
 the Romans^ in procefs of Time they aug- 
 mented it beyond meafure, both with re- 
 gard to their frequent Attendance at fuch 
 
 Enter-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, it 
 
 Entertainments, and the Pomp with which 
 they were carried on. The firft Time that in 
 Rome the Solemnity of gladiatory Shews 
 was exhibited, may be reckoned to have 
 been in the Farrojiicin Year 45)0, when the 
 Two Brothers the ^ Bniti caufed three 
 Couples, of Gladiators to fight publickly, 
 in Memory of their deceased Father, and 
 to do Honour to his Obfequies. From the 
 Honours done the Dead, thefe Things, as 
 3 T'ert till tan fays, were immediately applied 
 to the Living alfo ; for as they were ex- 
 ceedingly agreeable to the Multitude, thole 
 who were advanced to certain eminent 
 Stations in the State, began to have them 
 celebrated at their own Charge, and that 
 by way of Prefent or Retribution to the 
 People, for having elefted them ; hence 
 were they call'd ^ Donatives^ or Gifts. The 
 Places where thofe Combats were celebrated, 
 (excepting in the caiiicft Times, w^hen 
 they fought before the Sepulchres) were, 
 for the moft part, in the Squares or" open 
 Places of the Cities, as being more fpacious 
 than the others, confequently fitter for con- 
 taining and accommodating the Spectators ; 
 and in the Porticos of thofe Squares they 
 made the Intercolumniations larger, on 
 purpofe that the View might be the lels 
 obftructed. 
 
 The
 
 It Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 The firft Game of the Brutij already 
 mentioned, we have an Account of from 
 rakrms Maximusy and that it was in the 
 Forum Boariumy called fo from its being 
 the Market for Oxen. 
 
 In Polybluss Time, viz, the i^th Age of 
 Romey the gladiatory Employment was re- 
 duced to an Art ; hence they fought not 
 only with mere Force, but feveral dexterous 
 Kinds of Combating were invented. 
 
 CHAP. 11. 
 
 Of the Games of Wild Beajls, and of 
 thefivjl Notion People had of making 
 Amphitheatres. 
 
 THE firft publick Shew of Wild Beafts 
 exhibited, was in the Year of Rome 
 502 % when the Elephants (taken from the 
 Carthaglnlansy on the Viftory obtained by 
 Liiclus Metellus in Stctly) were brought into 
 the Circus: But if we rely on what ^///^y 
 quotes from Fenejiella^ the making them 
 fight, was not in Ufe till about the middle 
 of the following Age, when Claudius 
 Pulcher was » j^dile : But if we take the 
 Authority of 3 Seneca and * Jfconius Pedia- 
 
 ' Tlin. U 8. c, 5. IC, %. ' Sen» Br, vh, c. 13. 
 
 f ^fc, inFitonim* 
 
 msj
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, i^ 
 
 mis^ it began only in the Time of Pompey ; 
 nor did the Combats of other Bcafts enfue, 
 till after the .Second « Punic War, when 
 the Carthaghiian Africa was reduced to a 
 kind of Servitude. 
 
 In effeft, the firft mention that I can find 
 of them in the Roman Hiftory, is in the 
 Year 568, when Marcus Fulvius celebrated 
 thoic Games with greater Pomp than has 
 ever been fince, and which, in the JEtoUc 
 War he vowed to perform. Livy relates. 
 That at that Time, befides the Exercifes of 
 the Jthleta^y which were firft feen at 
 Ror/ie^ there was a Hunting of Lions and 
 Panthers given ; that this was the firft, 
 I prove from the fame Author, who moft 
 diligently mentions thofc Games from time 
 to time, yet makes not the leaft niention 
 of any anterior to this, unlefs it be in fuch 
 of his Books as are wanting; But 20 Years 
 after, at the « Circenjtan Games, he there 
 fliews them to have been vaftly improved 
 and augmented in Pomp, where no lefs 
 than 6^ Panthers, 40 Bears, and ^omc 
 Elephants, were expofed to publick View. 
 But Luxury and Riches by degrees in- 
 crea^ng, 7 Marcus Scaurtis in his ^dilate, 
 exhibited 150 Tygers, 5 Crocodiles, and 
 an Hippopotamus or River Horfe. But 
 
 as
 
 14 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 as « Seneca affirms, in the Praetorlhip of 
 SylLi^ two Lions were let loofe, notvvith- 
 ftanding 'twas ufual at firft, to bring them 
 into the Circus chahi'd. 
 
 But 'Vom^ey the Great ^ at the Games he 
 celebrated, on dedicating his Theatre, 
 vaftly exceeded all the reft which had gone 
 before him ; for after all the other Kinds 
 of Diverfions had been.fecn, the laft ^iive 
 Days of the Games \vere fpeht in hunting 
 the wild Beafts, where were '410 Tygers, 
 500 Lions, and " a Number of Elephants, 
 Ihot at by AjYican Men; the Lynx, the 
 Rhinoceros, and a Number of ftrangc 
 Beafts were there fliewn to publick View, 
 even fonie brought from JFjhwpicu 
 
 Qe/ar^ after the Civil War was ended, 
 divided his hunting Games, fo as to laft 
 five Days alfo, in the firft of which the 
 ^ Camleopard was ftiewn ; at laft, 3 joo 
 Men on Foot, and 300 on Horfeback, were 
 made to fight, together with zo Elephants, 
 and an equal Number more with * Turrets 
 placed on their Backs, and defended by 
 6*0 Men; then, as to the Number of 
 Gladiators, he very much furpafled all that 
 had been feen before, having, when ^dile, 
 produced, as ^ Plutarch fays, no leis xh^xi 
 320 Couple of thole Combatants'. 
 
 2 Brc'j. "Sit, c. 1. ^ Dio I, -^c). * flutSw ?omt>, 
 
 C'c. /. 7. r. I. ^ Ti'io l.j^i. '^ CxC. r. 59. '^ Flin. 
 
 L 2. C.J. 5 jp/;^^. j;j Ca'/;' 
 
 Thcfc
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 15 
 
 Thefe Games being advanced to fuch a 
 pitch of Magnificence, it became at laft 
 neccfiary to think on a new kind of Edifice, 
 where they might be celebrated with more 
 Convenience and PI eafure than before : In 
 * 'Ckero*s Time they either were performed 
 in the Theatre or Circus.. Yet as to Gla- 
 diators in the Fortim^ Smtontas mentions 
 them in C(jefar'^ Time, and the Beafts to 
 have been flicwn in the Circus. "^Tis true, 
 in 7 XefhlUne we read^ that the great 
 Hunting w^hich ^omfey gave, as is already 
 mentioned, was performed in the Theatre ; 
 but XephUine^ methinks, was in that Place 
 too inaccurate an Abridger, efpecially if 
 he was the Caule that four Sentences neceC- 
 fary for the Coherence and Senfe, in w^hich 
 ' Dio exprelTes himfelf, were cancelled, 
 namely, That the Theatres were for 
 Mufick, • but the Circus appropriated for 
 the Wild Beafts. 
 
 The Circus^ however, on account of its 
 Bulk and Length, as it was adapted for 
 the running of the Big^- and ^uadrigce^ 
 behoved to render fome kinds of Diverfions 
 in one Place, but of fmall Delight w4th Re- 
 gard to what it did in others, the Circus 
 Maximus being no lefs than three Stadias in 
 Length, which were each the eighth Part 
 
 ^ De Leggi I. 2. Lud. puHici cum fmt catea circoque diiiji. $ 
 
 "^ C, 3^, Manure in Foro, in romp. ^ D'lo I. yj. 
 
 of
 
 \6 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 of a Mile, and one Stadium broad ; I mean 
 the Jrea alone, without the Buildings which 
 furrounded it : Nay, in fome Parts the View 
 of the Aletc^ could not mifs to be obftrufted 
 by the Obellfque, Altars, Pillars, Figures, 
 and many other Things which were placed 
 on the Sfihaj in Effcdt, at the above- 
 mentioned Games, which C^^e/ar gave, they 
 were obliged to remove the Met^ : befides, 
 it was not convenient with regard to the 
 Security of the Spectators. For which Rea- 
 fon we learn from '^liny^ that at Pompef^ 
 Games the People were in Danger from the 
 Elephants, which made Efforts to get out 
 at the Circus ; tho' Cciefar afterwards, when 
 he exhibited the fame kinds of Sports, caufed 
 Ditches to be dug round it : From all which 
 they found it convenient to build an Edi- 
 fice, which in a far lefs Circuit, and with- 
 out the View's being interrupted, might con- 
 tain a great many Spectators, with an Area 
 free and open, which at the fame Time 
 would keep them fafe from being annoyed 
 by the wild Beafts. 
 
 It was not difficult to have an Idea of the 
 Theatres which had been long in Ufe both 
 in Greece and Rome: Thefe they made fpa- 
 cious, and open at the Top; with a Semi- 
 circle of Steps, on which the Spefliators in 
 great Numbers fat : 'Twas eafy to think of 
 making another Semicircle of Steps, inftead 
 of the Scena which they ufed to place before 
 
 it;
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 17 
 
 It ; confequently contain a double Number 
 of Spedators, and have an ample Space left 
 in the Middle for the Combatants. 
 
 The firft Time that the EfFed of this was 
 feen^ was at that ftrange and oftentatious 
 Entertainment made by Cains Curlo^ Caefar'*^ 
 Partizan, who died in the Civil Wars. This 
 Curio was Tribune of the People, and the 
 fame with whom ^Cicero often correfponded 
 by Letters; he caufed another Theatre to 
 be built, bearing Marcus Celius*s Name: 
 His Surname fliews him to be of the Scri- 
 Ionian Family, and is the fame Curio MaxU 
 mus mentioned by Ltvy^ who calls him^felf 
 in ' another Place Caius Scnbonius Curio 
 Maximus. This Man, on his Father's Death, 
 being defirous to give an Entertainment 
 which fhould exceed all the other Shews 
 exhibited before that Time, and not being 
 able to vie with fome other Romans in Riches, 
 had Recourfe to Invention, and indeed the 
 Fabrick reared by him was a very good Spe- 
 cimen of what the Antients with regard to 
 Architefture and Mechanical Art could per- 
 form. In fine, he ereded two large and 
 contiguous T'heatres of Wood, but in fuch a 
 manner that the Spedators were to fit with 
 their Backs turned to one another, and the 
 Scenes to be placed before them both : Thefe 
 
 ^ Lib. 8. Ep. 1. in Theatram Curionls, 
 * Lib 27, 0» 53. 
 
 T'he-
 
 'i8 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 theatres were not founded in the Ground, 
 but flung, and fupported in the Air ; that is, 
 they both refted on Hinges and Pivots, and 
 fo could move and turn round, together 
 with the vaft Number of People which 
 were placed upon them. 
 
 In the Morning Scenary Diverfions were 
 exhibited, but after Mid-day the "fheatres 
 on a fudden were made to turn round till 
 they came in front of each other; then 
 driving down the Flooring of the Stage, the 
 Horns of the refpeftive 'Theatres began to 
 join one with another and fo formed an in- 
 tire Round or Circle : That is an Amfht- 
 Theatre^ in ihc y^rea of which the Gladiators 
 came to fight. This agreeable Account with 
 all its Circumftances we read in ^ Plir/y^ to 
 whom alone we are indebted for this and an 
 Hundred other fine Defcriptions : Tho' that 
 Author exclaims a little againft the Boldnefs 
 of the Undertaking, in caufing the whole 
 Number of Tribes and the Governors of the 
 World to be fufpended in the Air in fuch a 
 manner, and placed in a Machine, as if on 
 Board two Ships; yet could he not refrain 
 applauding the Invention, notwithftanding 
 the Danger in which he himfelf had been, 
 and tho' his Life had only depended on two 
 Hinges, appearing as if the whole Roman 
 People had (like Gladiators) been to fight 
 
 f flin, h 3<5, c, I j-. 
 
 before
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, ip 
 
 before the Tomb ofCurio*s Father : However, 
 no Damage enfued, only on the laft Day, 
 Ibme Parts of the Machine being weakned 
 and out of Order, they did not truft to its being 
 moved round • but kept it in the Form of 
 an ^mpbi-fkeatrcy as it had been the Even- 
 ing befoje : fo that the Scenes were brought 
 into the Middle, and the Jthletce fhewn 
 thereon; then on a fudden removing the 
 Flooring, the Gladiators who had been 
 victorious the Day before were made to 
 appear. 
 
 But how very defireable would it have 
 been if Pliny had not beea fo fparing of 
 Words, and had diftindly defcribed the 
 Artifice, and the Manner how the whole 
 immenfe Weight was fupported fecurely, 
 by the Dilpofition of the Beam, and the 
 Caution with which the Pivots were placed, 
 io as not to give Way and fink downwards j 
 and with what kind of Capfl:ans fuch uncom- 
 mon Machines were made moveable, and 
 capable of being turned round, or if the 
 Scenes were alfo moved round with them:- 
 or if by removing them, the Semicircle of 
 Steps only was moved in the fame Manner. 
 
 Thofe learned Men who have publiftied 
 and given Commentaries on Pliny ^ had here 
 a fine Opportunity of doing themfelves 
 Honour. Daniel Barharo^ in his Notes on 
 Fitruviusy affirms, lLhd.t one Fr am ijco Ma r^ 
 caloniy a Perfon ready and happy in deter- 
 C i mining
 
 to Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 mining Qneftions of this Nature, made him 
 (he fays) underftand perfectly in what Man- 
 ner the two Theatres could move round ; 
 and where the Center was to be placed, and 
 the Pivots laid : All which is ftiewn by 
 Barbara on two loofe Sheets, added to the 
 End of his Book, and which were made to 
 turn juft us that ingenious Man already men- 
 tioned had conceived about the Theatres ; 
 yet fuch fmall Effays are not methinks fuf- 
 iicient to explain fo uncommon a Work, nor 
 to refolve the Difficulties which appear to 
 thofe skilled in fuch Things : 'Tis however 
 credible, that the Hinges had not the whole 
 Weight refting on them, as Pliny fays -^ but 
 ferved chiefly to hold the Theatres together 
 in the Line of Divifion, when they turned, 
 the greateft Part, refting on Wheels of Me- 
 tal, and not upon one Pivot alone. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 • Of the Amphitheatres that werff 
 Jirjt built. 
 
 THE above-mentioned curious Inven- 
 tion was rather a kind of Prelude to 
 the Amphitheatres than in Reality a 
 Beginning to them; fo that to determine 
 when either they or the Hunting wild Beafts 
 in them, began, was fuch a Difficulty, that
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, h 
 
 Lifjtus confeffes he had Ipent therein 
 much Time in vain ' : But concerning wild 
 Beafts and .Amphitheatres alio, we have 
 already feen a clear Evidence. As to the 
 lirft of the Amphitheatres, a Paflage in ^ Dio 
 (quoted by Lifjius^ tho' not well confider'd 
 by him) illuftrates this Point : That incom- 
 parable Hiftorian fays. That Ccvfar^ at the 
 Dedication of his Forum and the Temple of 
 Venus built by him, exhibited many and 
 various kinds of Games; having eretied a 
 hunting I'heatre of Woody called indeed an 
 Amphi-Theatre, hecaufe of the Seats placed 
 around it zmthout Scenes. 
 
 From thefe Words 'tis plain in what Man- 
 ner the Thing itfelf and its Name began, 
 tho' the firft Authors in which I find the 
 Word Amphi^fheatrey are Straho and Diony^ 
 fiusy who were both in Auguftus^ Time. 
 3 Dionyfiusy fpeaking of the Works of the 
 two Kings the farquinsy has in one Place 
 this Expreffion, ^rbp*AjupQicLT^Qvl7nro^popiovy 
 and in another, g-oav 'Aju:f)iUxraov: But I 
 believe both thefe Paffages (by the Fault 
 of the Tranfcribers) are now read wrong. 
 For as 'J^ortico Amphitheatre or Amphitheatre 
 Circus would not found well in the Vulgar 
 Language, neither does it appear that tho;ff 
 
 ' ^mph. c. f. dm qudfivi fruflra. 
 
 * Lr^. 43. ©tctrpoy 77 KUvtiyiTjx.oV iHp/woa?, }^ 'A//^/9€at- 
 
 ^ 6/r. /, ;-. 4 D. Hal, I, 3, 0^ 4, 
 
 C 3 two
 
 ix Of Amphitheatres- 
 
 two Subftantives hang well together in the 
 Greek : So that 'tis my Opinion that all this 
 might be remedied, by only erazing one 
 fingle Letter, and fo to read it ct^^iBgaroi/ ; 
 Portico and Circus y where People could Ji and 
 and fee from every Part. So that a certaia 
 Shew, mentioned in the Ads of St. Iharacus 
 the Martyr, was for the fame Reafon called 
 ilfjL^i^ictfjLa. The Greek Word for Amphi- 
 theatre might be rendered in the Italian Cir^ 
 conviforio^ viz. a Place where one fees all round 
 from every Part thereof: and as that Place we 
 call jiuditorioj oi yduditory^ from our hearing 
 therein, what we are now defcribing, we 
 ftiall call Viditorjy from feeing^ for fo it was 
 called in LatiUy Viforium^ by ^ Cajfiodorus: 
 Hence is that Paffage in « St. John Chry- 
 
 which in all the printed Copies is rendered, 
 jiliud eji heic 'fheatrum aliud Auditorium : 
 tho' more properly they might fay, u^liud 
 efl heic Viforiumy &c. Theatre in Latin 
 implying both the Viforium and Auditor 
 rium. 
 
 But to return to Dio ; that Author con- 
 tinuing to give an Account, in the fore- 
 mention'd Paffage, fays, C^far^ by thofe 
 Dedications, and in Memory of his de- 
 ceafed Daughter, exhibited Games j where- 
 in ' Beafls were flain, and Men feen to fight, 
 
 £ Var, h 41. « InPial. xlix. 1 Lib, 43. 
 
 indi-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 23 
 
 indicating the double Ufe to which the new 
 Fabrick was to be applied. 
 
 In Rome therefore, and not in Greece^ did 
 the Amphitheatres begin, and may boafl: of 
 the Glory in having the Founder of the 
 Roman Empire for its firft Inventor. 
 
 Ccefar caufed his Amphitheatre to be made 
 of Wood, as they always had been before 
 Pompey's Time, who, according to ^ 'Tacitus^ 
 made his of Stone. 
 
 But the fupreme Government in the Re- 
 publick devolving on Jugujlusy he, as Fifior 
 Jun'uu relates, being of a fertile and jovial 
 Difpofition, was a great Admirer of Pub- 
 lick Shews; particularly, of feeing wild 
 Beafts fight : So that from the Laps Anci- 
 ranus we learn, that 9 about 3500 of thofe 
 Animals were flain at the Hunting he exhi- 
 bited. And * Dio aflerts, that he was the firft 
 who caufed the Hippopotamus and Rhinoceros 
 to be feen. And, as we may gather from 
 Suetonius^ in the Life of "- Fefpajian^ he had 
 a Defign to build an Amphitheatre of Stone, 
 tho' it never was put in Execution. How- 
 ever, in his Time, Statilius T'aurusy after- 
 wards Conful and Praefed of Rome^ under- 
 took the AtFair, thinking perhaps it might 
 be agreeable to that Emperor; an Account 
 of which we have in ^ Dio^ who fays, that 
 
 ^ Annal. /. 14. ^ Grut. f. 253. * 'Lib, fi. * Cap. 10. 
 ^ Lib, ly. &\<tT§ov iv Tw 'Apslw mJia KUPt^fiTiitov ?^iQtvov^ 
 
 G 4 hefore
 
 ^4 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 hfore the fourth Confuhte ^'Auguftus was 
 at an Endy Statilius Taurus, at his own Charge y 
 ereBed a Hunting Theatre of Stone^ in the 
 Campus Martius, and dedicated it by the 
 Combats of armed Men: But, according to 
 Straboy in the above-mention* d Paffage, it 
 would appear, that it was not properly in 
 the Campus Martius^ but near it. Howe- 
 ver, the Amphitheatre itfelf was but incon- 
 Cderable ; tho' on account of the Novelty 
 of the Thing, Statilius defer ved to have been 
 elefted one of the yearly Prsetors, as a Re- 
 w^ard from the People : tho' the Edifice it- 
 felf was not a Work equal to his Fame, nor 
 adapted for that which Rome then wanted. 
 IJidorus writes, that Curio was the firft who 
 out of two Tloeatres of JVood made one com^ 
 fleat Amphitheatre^ and hozv 4 that Statiliu?, 
 Taurus caufed a fmall one of Stone to he 
 eretied: Yet we do not find this Paffage of 
 Jfidorus in any printed Book of that Author, 
 but only cited by 5 Guglielmo ^afrengOy 2i 
 Feronefe Writer, coteniporary with Petrarch^ 
 who in other Places fnews that he had 
 Jfidorus^ Books from more ample Origi- 
 nals than what are remaining at prefent. 
 For my part, I argue with more Certainty 
 about the Inconfiderablenefs of that Edi- 
 fice, by confidering how the folemn Games 
 celebrated two Years after, notwithftanding 
 
 * Teirvum Upihm cond'uUu - ?. 25-, 
 
 they
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 25 
 
 they had been before decreed on account of the 
 ^ Vidoxy 2Li jifiium '^ yet the Prifoners fought 
 within a Stadium of Wood, built likewife 
 for that End in the Campus Martius. The, 
 Huntings given in the Prxtorfliip of DrufuSy 
 and on the Birth-Day of Augufttis^ were in 
 the Circus* Thofe Shews by Water, given 
 by that Emperor were in the Circus Flami^ 
 muSy in which 3(5 Crocodiles were killed 5 
 and this we learn from Dio^ who fays, that 
 at the Funeral Combats, particularly on the 
 Death of yfgripfa^ the Gladiators fought 
 Man to Man, then with equal Numbers 
 againft one another: The fame Author 
 likewife relates how they were performed 
 in the 7 Enclofure of the Comitiaj as well 
 in Honour of Agrippa^ as for having liniflied 
 and ornamented that Place ; becaufe « they 
 could not exhibit them in the Forum on ac^ 
 count of the Conflagration which happen' d 
 there^ where fevered Buildings had been de^ 
 jiroyed round about it. 
 
 From all which 1 think it plainly appears, 
 that they little regarded the Amphitheatre 
 ofT'aurus^ which Conjedure I confirm, by 
 obferving that afterwards they even con- 
 tinued to build fuch Strudures of Wood : 
 Befides, 'tis credible that the Building itfelf 
 was not intirely of Stone; but only perhaps 
 the Steps, and may have had other Parts of 
 
 ^ Dio lib. 5-3, cr s^* ^ EJ' 'mi XiTrloii^ ^ Lib. ff. 
 
 Wood :
 
 26 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Wood : Hence we read in Dio^ as he is 
 epitomized, that ^ in Nero*s Time it was 
 burnt ; nor even after, on the Occafion of 
 all the many Publick Games exhibited, does 
 any Hiftorian mention that Theatre : Nor 
 does it fignify, that it was called Lapideus^ 
 or a ^tone^jVork by Dio ; for that Hiftorian 
 called Trajan'^ Bridge, over the Danube^ a 
 Stone Work alfo, tho' the Piers of it were 
 only of Stone, and the upper Part Wood, as 
 appears from Trajan's Pillar, and even as it 
 may be gathered from the Context of Dlo 
 himfelf. In fine, we may obferve that Z^- 
 truviusy in his long Account of the Strufture 
 of Theatres, mentions nothing about Am- 
 phitheatres J from which we may very well 
 argue, that no confiderable or fixed Amphi- 
 theatre had as yet been feen ; yet that his 
 Books were publifhcd after Taurus's Amphi- 
 theatre was erefted, may be fairly conje- 
 ftured from the Preface, wherein he fpeaks 
 with Augujius as already fixed in the Poffef- 
 fion of the Government, and as having turned 
 his Thoughts to ornament Rome with fine 
 Buildings. Moreover, that in this Emperor's 
 Reign, fundry Amphitheatres of Wood 
 were to be feen in Rome^ may be gathered 
 from what Augufius himfelf is reported to 
 have faid in the » Lapis Ancyranus^ namely, 
 that he had exhibited feveral magnificent 
 
 ^ p. 709. & LmncL to OietTfaf t3 TecJ^a e<^u0H. P. 709. 
 Xi^h, yifv^.v A/0iywf. ' Gmt. />. 232. in Amphitheatris, 
 
 Games,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 27 
 
 Games, both in the Circus^ the Foruniy and 
 Amphitheatres. 
 
 After the Time of Atigujiiis^ ^ Caligula 
 began another Amphitheatre, but never 
 finiflied it : As to gladiatory Combats, and 
 the like, Suetonius writes how that Empe- 
 ror made then ufe of the Septa^ viz. the In- 
 clofurc of the Comitia^ and fometimes of 
 Statilius T'aurus^s Amphitheatre; but Dio 
 affirms, and agrees much better with the 
 other Accounts, that Caligula had his Games 
 performed only in the Septa^ except fome- 
 times in Places which he encompaffed 
 with Palifades ; for which End he caufed 
 large Buildings to be thrown down, in 
 order to make Openings whenever he had 
 a mind, ^ becaufe he did not at all value 
 the Amphitheatre of I'aurus. 
 
 Claudius delighted greatly in Publick 
 Games, the moft folemn Gladiatory One 
 he had performed in theft//-^; nay, fome 
 modern Writers affert, that out of the Septa 
 he built an Amphitheatre, for which they 
 cite ^ Suetonius: Tho' that Author, in Cali- 
 guU% Life, fays otherwife, and that he un- 
 dertook two Works, viz. an Aqueduti^ and 
 an Amphitheatre in the Septa ; one of which 
 Works Claudius finifhed, but not the other : 
 And in the fame Life of Claudius he affirms, 
 that what he did finifli was the Aqueduch^ 
 
 Cah f. 21, e^ 18. ^ L. f^» To yd^ T» 7«u^« Qictr^ov 
 vm^if^QVVidi* ? Suet, CL n. 
 
 con-
 
 28 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 confequently the jimphitheatre had been 
 laid afide. Neroy ^ who alfo liked Pubiick 
 Shevys, built a new Amphitheatre of Wood 
 for that Purpofe in the Campus Martlusj 
 and iiniftied it within a Year. That it was 
 well founded, of a great Size, and firmly 
 fupported by large Beams, we learn from 
 ' Yacitus, Pliny likewife fays, ^ it had a 
 Beam of the L^?r/>-Tree, about 120 Foot 
 in Length, and two in Breadth, running 
 equal from one End to the other j which, 
 together with another, were carried to RonWy 
 by fiberhJs Order, fiomRh^tia^ our Neigh- 
 bouring Country : When that Emperor 
 caufed the Bridge at the Naumachia to be 
 rebuilt, and by him Ihewn for a Wonder, 
 and preferved a long Time after as a Rarity. 
 
 After the Example of Rorne^ 'twas but a 
 Ihort Time till other Cities began likewife 
 to build Amphitheatres ; fo that in the fame 
 Reign of Ttherms one Attillus built a large 
 one near F'tdena^ which Town, as 9 Dionyjias 
 lays, was about five Miles from Ro77ie : but the 
 Foundation thereof having not been carried 
 thro' the whole Fabrick, and the Frame of 
 the Wood- work not fecurely linked toge- 
 ther, it therefore happened at the Celebra- 
 tion of one of their Games that the Weight 
 oi the Spectators bore it down all of a fud- 
 
 * ■'^er. e, i a. Am^hkheatro llgneo intra anni fpdtium fabric 
 (Ato, ^ Ann. I. 13. Uuddndis fu\^damentis i& trabibus, (^c. 
 
 * P/. /. 16. <:. 39, ^ 40. ^ Dion, HkI, L i, 
 
 den,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 29 
 
 den, which, as ' Suetofiius fays, occafioncd 
 the Death of above twenty-thoufand Per- 
 fons ; nay, ^ facitus afferts, that between 
 Dead and Wounded there were above fifcy- 
 thoufand. 
 
 Another very beautiful Amphitheatre was 
 built without the Walls of ^ Phcentla^ and, 
 as the fame ^ Author reports, the Largeft 
 of any in Italy \ fo that there were many 
 others : That this was built of Wood we 
 may fafely conclude, becaufe in the Time 
 of the Civil Wars between FitelUus and 
 Othoy when a tumultuary Affault was made 
 on that City, by the Torches and Fire 
 thrown from the two Parties againft one 
 another, it was fet on fire, blazed out in 
 Flames, and was reduced to Allies ; They 
 fufpefted that it had been done malicioufly 
 by fome of the neighbouring Colonies, be- 
 caufe of the Envy they had againft one 
 another. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Amphitheatre ofTirvs, called 
 the Coloflfeum^ not on account of 
 Nero'5 ColofTus. 
 
 T/ES^JSIJN at laft undertook to erecl 
 ^ his Amphitheatre of Stone, reckoned the 
 Prodigy of all the ancient Buildings, of 
 which even the mere Shell or Cruil; re- 
 
 mainini^;
 
 go Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 maining to this Day, begets Wonder, hav- 
 ing furely been the moft fiiperb, and bell 
 underftood Edifice in the World : Nor did 
 » Martial^ without Reafon affert, that the 
 Pyramids and Maufoleiims ought to yield to 
 it, and Fame to fpeak of it alone above 
 all the others. 
 
 » CaJJiodorus afferts, That the Expence 
 thereof was fufficient to have built a capi- 
 tal City ; and Fefpci/ian knowing it would 
 appear auguft, determined it ihould be pla- 
 ced in the Center of Rome^ tho' in his own 
 Reign it was neither finiftied, nor the Work 
 very much advanced : And yet, that it was 
 perfected in his Time, one (who gives 
 Faith to the Medals of that Emperor handed 
 about) ought to believe, fince on thefe Me- 
 dals is this Araphttheatre reprefented fine 
 and entire ;. but I own all of this Kind, 
 which I ever faw, are fpurious, nor indeed 
 are any but falfe Coins of it to be feen. 
 Mezzaharha^ on the Credit of others, hasre- 
 gifier'd one, with a third Confulate upon it, 
 but any one may fee how incongruous that 
 is : Nay, the fame Author, on the Faith of 
 Occo^ gave a Place to another more e- 
 fteemed with the eighth Confulate upon it, 
 which by Llpflas was received as genuine ; 
 wiiich Piece of Impofture I have in my own 
 Collection, and as finely wrought as is pof- 
 
 ^ Ep, I, * Var.lib. 4, 42. divimrum pofufo fiumine 
 
 eofTtavh, JEdificium fori, wule caput urbmrn potuijj'et. 
 
 fiblCj
 
 Of Amphitheatres^ 51 
 
 fible, but it happens that the eighth Confu- 
 late of Fefpajian coincides with the fixth 
 of T'itusy in which Year, or the next fol- 
 lowing PUny finifh'd his Book, as we may 
 plainly learn from the Dedication thereof to 
 !titus^ where he ftiles him the fixth Time 
 Conful : Now who can poflibly believe, if 
 this Building had then been iinifhed, or 
 near compleated, that 1 hat » Author would 
 not have mentioned it, confidering how ve- 
 ry partial he was to Fefpajians Glory, Spe- 
 cially in treating of the famous Buildings 
 of Rome ; among the firft of which he on- 
 ly places the Temple of Peace, made by 
 Veffajian. Some, I own, give for Anfwer, 
 that we ought to believe the Medal, where- 
 on is the Reprefentation of the Amphithe- 
 atre, to have been ftruck after Fefpafan^ 
 Death, in Memory of his having begun it ; 
 but in fuch a Gafe, by the Infcription, he 
 would be ftiled D'wus^ not Gonful ; how- 
 ever. That this Amphitheatre was for the 
 moft Part built in the Reign of J'itusy may 
 be gathered from Eutropius^ the Chronica of 
 St. Jerome^ St. ^rof penis ^ and CaffiodoruSy 
 who abfolutely affirm, that it was ereded 
 by him ; the fame may alio be learned 
 from the Gompend of Dlo^ who mentions 
 it not as having been built in Fefpajtans 
 Time, but in that of T^itus j and fays, That 
 
 3 Tlin. U i6. c, \j. 
 
 the
 
 52 0/ Amphitheatres; 
 
 the former having no Delight in gladiatory 
 Combats, exhibited the Hunting of wild 
 Beafts in the Theatres j but XipiolUne con- 
 founding the Names of thofe Things one 
 with another, it is to be underftood in the 
 Circh^ in this Manner does M?r//^/ exalt 
 T'iUu. * Vi^or^ in the Lives of the defarsj 
 fays, That this vaft Building was begun in 
 Vejpajian's Time, but finillied by T'itus^ and 
 Ihews that the latter died a little after it had 
 been perfefted. Suetonius affirms the fame, 
 and that this happened after the publicfc 
 Games were ended, meaning thofe perfor- 
 med at the Dedication of the Amphitheatre : 
 Hence we may conclude, that he had car- 
 ried on the Work all the Time his Govern- 
 ment lafted. It was dedicated by 'fitus in 
 his own, and not in his Father's Name; 
 at which Solemnity, Eiitropms fays, 5000 
 wild Beafts w^ere kilFd. Dio makes the 
 Num.ber 5)000, and to them adds 4 Ele- 
 phants, and that likewife naval Combats 
 were given, s having on a fudden brought 
 Water into the Amphitheatre. In thefe at 
 firft were Animals, afterwards a Number of 
 Ships made to fight, as if they had belong- 
 ed to the Corinthians and Corey rlans ; the 
 antlent War between which People is de- 
 fcribed by I'hucydldes : And if we may be- 
 lieve M/r//^/, ^People from every Part of 
 
 * Amphitheatri tanta -vh, ($^c. perfecro cpere interih. 
 5 Lib. 66, vJIltQ- i^^/itpvm 5rA»o<yVrtf. ^Ep. 3. 
 
 the
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 35 
 
 the known World flock'd to Rome to fee 
 thofe Games. This ftupeadous Pile is by 
 an immemorial Tradition called the CoUfeo 
 at Rome ; in Latin it is found wrote CoUfe-^ 
 am and ColoJ/eum : All modern Writers have 
 for a long Time unanimoufly agreed, That 
 this Amphitheatre was fo named, becaufe, 
 as they fay, the Colojfus of Nero flood at 
 a little Diftance from it ; but I fiiall here 
 propofe a few Things to be confidered on 
 this Head, and then let People judge, if it 
 ought to have that Denomination. » The 
 ColoJJtis of Nero^ which was an hundred 
 and twenty Foot high, and the Work of 
 * Zenodorus^ was plac'd in the Veftihtd of his 
 Damns Aurea^ or Houfe of Gold ; we hare 
 alfo an Epigram in ? Martial^ where Tttus is 
 greatly prais'd for having converted that 
 large Spot of Ground in Rome (which had 
 been liird with Nero's Floufe) to publick 
 Ufe, and for having reftored it to the Com« 
 munity, in which we fee, that where the 
 Atrium^ or Entry to the Houfe had been, 
 there did Ttttis make a Street, at a little 
 Diftance from which tliere was a Colojfus .• 
 And we plainly perceive that this venerable 
 Structure was not built where the Atrttim 
 or Veliibul &ooAy but where the ♦Fifli-ponds 
 had been made, which of Coiirfe were at a 
 good Diftance from the Vejilhul. Near the 
 
 ' 5«. net. r. 18. *P/«. /. 54,. f. 7. 3 jE^, i, 
 
 f $tii^,m Neronis ermt. 
 
 D Amphi-
 
 34 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Amphitheatre, where formerly Gardens and 
 Walks had been, he made ^hermce^ or 
 Hot-baths, called by Martial^ Velocia Mu- 
 fiera^ quick Gratuities • the Reafon of this 
 Appellation we learn from * Suetonius y name- 
 ly, that they were made in Hafte. Some 
 other Confiderations feem to convince, that 
 the Colojffus of Nero flood at no fmall Di- 
 ftance from the Amphitheatre, and that the 
 faid huge Statue was afterwards removed 
 out of its Place, and tranlported elfewhere 
 by Hadrian ; according to Spartlanus^ it was 
 then dedicated to the Sun ; however, we 
 know from ^ PUny^ that this had been ta- 
 ken away immediately after Nero's own 
 Time, on Account of his Wickednefs. Yet, 
 as Suetonius fays, when Fefpajtan had caufed 
 it to be again fet up, Commodus altered it, 
 having taken off the Head, and placed his 
 own thereon. Now « Spartlan affirms, that 
 in the Situation where the Colojfus had flood, 
 the Temple of the Goddefs Roma was pla- 
 ced, which does not appear to have been 
 clofe to the Amphitheatre, but undoubtedly 
 at a good Diftance from it ; for Vltior men- 
 tions it as fituated in a very different Part 
 of the Town. The fame Author likcwife 
 places a Cohjfus^ diftinguifhed from the 
 others, and of equal Size, in a Situation 
 very diftant from the Amphitheatre. And 
 
 ' J» T. c. 7. ^ Pirn. /. 34. cap. 7. Damnatis fceleribus 
 il'itis pinci^'is. ' Ds eo loco in quo nunc Temphim urbis eji. 
 
 indeed,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 35 
 
 indeed, as to that of which we now Ipeak, 
 it might be well diftlnguiflied from the 
 others, as having feven Rays projeding from 
 the Head, which fliews it facred to the Sun^ 
 From all which it appears, that the Amphi- 
 theatre could not take its Name from the 
 ColoffltSy as being neither near it, nor be- 
 longing to it any way vvhatlbever. And 
 indeed, had a Colojfus been placed near fo 
 vaft and awful an Edifice, inftead of taking 
 Its Name from its being a Statue, 'tis more 
 credible that the Statue itfelf took its Deno- 
 mination from the Building j of this we have 
 a clear Example in * ^Itny^ who fays, that 
 a Colofflis of Jupiter as large as a Tower, 
 placed by Claudius in the Campus Martmsy 
 as being near the Theatre of Pompey^ was 
 called the Pompeian Coloffus. 
 
 But, ihould it be asked from whence I 
 think the Origin of the forefaid Denomina- 
 tion came, I anfwer, from the Comparifon of 
 this with other Amphitheatres, it appearing 
 as much fuperior in Bulk to them, as a Co- 
 lojpds does among other Statues, and from 
 the Cuftom that People had of calling every 
 thing by that Name, which exceeded others 
 in Greatnefs. This Thought occurr'd to 
 me long ago, by reading in Suetonius^ that 
 in the Time of Caltgithy Ejus ProcaluSy on 
 
 * lib, 34. cn^, 7. Vacatur foin^siamis n vicmtati Thzdiru 
 
 D a account
 
 ^6 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 account of the ' va^ Size and jine Shape of 
 h'ls Body was called Cokjpros^ or Colojpo^ 
 as it ought to be wrote in that Place. I 
 likewife obferved in the Epiftles of * Caffio- 
 dorusy that a certain great Perfon was cal- 
 led by the Name of Colojfeus (or like a Co^ 
 lojpis) on account of his great Strength. 
 Befides, ' Vttruvhis ufes the Expreffion, in 
 fpeaking of the greater Kinds of Weights, 
 he te^ms them Weights more CoIoffeatJ ; 
 which ftiews that this Word was ufcd to 
 exprefs a Thing of a large Size ^ juft as in 
 Greeks fometinies they make uie of the 
 TSTamcs of a Horfe and an Ox, in compound- 
 ing Words. Afterwards in running over 
 the Hiftory of * Erchempertus the Monk, 
 in Camlllo Peregrini's Edition of that Au- 
 thor, I was fore of the whole, where, in 
 the fecond fome^ concerning the Italian Af- 
 fairs, he twice calls the Amphitheatre of 
 Captia^ Cohjfo (which perhaps ought to be 
 read Colojfeum) and certain it is, that the 
 Colofflis of Nero had never been fet up 
 there. And indeed it appears, that Amphi^ 
 theatres had that Name given them, on ac- 
 count of their marvellous Height. Calphtir-- 
 miSy in his ' Eclogues, fpeaking of the Am- 
 phitheatre of Rom^y confirms this, and fays, 
 
 ' CaL c, 5f. 06 egreghm Corporis Amplhudinem, ^ Spcdem 
 Colojferos dictm. ^ Var. lib, 5, £/>• ?• No?nme 'viribufque 
 
 TrAptenti. ^ Lib. lo. c, ^. KoXoffVlKOTl^. onera, ^ Cap, ^^. 
 lik, 75. c^Hi in Colojfo morabmuir, "[ J^clo^. 7. 
 
 that
 
 Of Am^phitheatres. ^7 
 
 that it furmounted the Top of the Tarpeian 
 Rock in Height, appearing to reach up to 
 the Heavens. So far had I wrote Ibme 
 Months ago, when from Capua I received 
 the Book lately publifhed by the Canon 
 Allejjio Mazochioj concerning the Amphi- 
 theatre at that Place, and which, in a gen- 
 teel Manner, was fent me by the moft wor- 
 thy Magiftratcs there, and from their noble 
 Chief G'mfeppe di Capua Capece. This Book 
 contains {o much Learning, and is fo very 
 elegant, that thofe exalted Minds which de- 
 light in feeing the high Pitch to which Let- 
 ters are arrived at this time in Italy^ ought 
 to rejoice ; but, as to the Name ColaffeOj 
 given to the Roman Amphitheatre, I find 
 that Author is pofitively of the fame Opi- 
 nion, and proves it by Paffages in V'ttru-^ 
 vius and Erchempertus^ but moft efpecially 
 by that Interpretation given of the Word 
 KoAoiTOTa, by Hefychius ; all which confirm'd 
 me in the forefaid Opinion. 
 
 And yet it may be not altogether incre- 
 dible, but that the Amphitheatre, by ibme 
 Accident or other, might, as is common- 
 ly behevcd, hiive taken its Denomination 
 from a ColoJJus : However, I ftiall only add, 
 that if ever it had been fo, it moft certain- 
 ly was not from that of NerOy but rather 
 from the Coloffus of T'itus. We have a 
 kind of Evidence of this before us in the 
 two Medals in Plate I. the firft of which 
 D 3 ftiews
 
 '^S Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 ihews a Figure with an Olive Branch in its 
 Han'i], fitting in the Guruie Chair, placed 
 upon military Trophies, by which proba- 
 bly is reprefented the ColoJ/us of Titus. An- 
 other exceedingly like that we fee like- 
 wife fitting in the Curnle Seat, on a Medal 
 ftruck in Honour of Tiber ius^ with this Le- 
 gend, Civiiatibus Jfc€ re (lit nth ^ where the 
 Face of Tiberius is excellently reprefented, 
 which Medal we find afterwards ftruck by 
 an excellent and ingenious Artificer, where- 
 on I believe a Statue is manifeftly repre- 
 fented, as having been erected on Account 
 of that Emperor's having re-edified the 
 Cities of jfia which had been ruin'd by an 
 Earthquake. That this Statue was of the 
 Nature of a Cohjfus we may fairly con- 
 leclure, from a Marble Bafe of another Co- 
 loffus like it, found at Pozzuolo in the Year 
 I (5^3 , with the Reprefentation of thofe 
 AJhtick Cities engraven round it, with In- 
 fcriptions thereon, and publifhcd by Eitlt- 
 {one and Fabretti ; on this Affair Lawrence 
 Gronovins wrote a Book, fo that I think we 
 need not doubt, but that the Statue refem- 
 bling Titus was aifo a Colojpis. It was con- 
 venient for the Artificers to make thofe Co- 
 lo[[iis's in a fitting Pofture, becaufe in that 
 Manner they could give greater Firmnefs 
 to the Figure *. Pliny mentions one of 
 
 • Lib. i6. c.tp. f. Mars etlr.mniim Seder.: CclcJ[eu!. 
 
 M^rs
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 39 
 
 Mars fitting. And indeed by fuch a Dis- 
 covery as this , we may well judge the 
 Meaning of fitting Figures on Medals : 
 There is another like this with a Branch in 
 its Hand, having alfo Enfigns of Divinity, 
 a radiated Crown, a Spear, or rather Scep- 
 ter, with this Legend, Divus Augufius f^e^ 
 fpa/tanns ; by which we fee it reprefents a 
 Statue of that Emperor, as erefted by De- 
 cree of the Senate, for the Reverfe has no- 
 thing elfe in the middle but S. C. That 
 this was of the Nature of a Colojpis we 
 may probably conjtdure, if we confider 
 thofe who ordered the making of it, and 
 the Perfon for whom it was made. In that 
 common Medal of Augufius^ whereon is the 
 lame kind of Figure, like that of Thus fit- 
 ting in the Curule Chair, and an Olive 
 Branch in its Hand, where it is perfedly 
 well prefer ved, we may plainly fee Atigti^ 
 Jius*s Face. Hence 'tis clear, that a Statue 
 of him feems to have been confecrated, af- 
 ter his Death, to his Memory. Confenfu 
 Senatus & Equejiris Ordimsj Populique Ro^ 
 manu In this Manner, » as Dio fays, were 
 they eredcd while that Emperor was alive, 
 every one contributing thereunto. Martial 
 calls the CohJJus of Domitianus Statins, that 
 of Augufius'^ and ^ublius Vt^or affirms, 
 that there were above 88 Colojpiss in Roms 
 
 9 Lib. 5-4. 
 
 D 4 of
 
 ^40 Of Amphitheatres, 
 
 of Marble and Metal, and fuch were for 
 the moft Part the folemn Statues of the Em- 
 perors. Caligula ordered that fuch a Statue, 
 reprefenting him, fhould be plac'd in the 
 Temple of Jenijakm^ and alfo in Jamniay 
 another City of Judea^ as Philo fays : And 
 Hadrian commanded, that Statues of the 
 Colojpan kind fhould be ereded for jElius 
 Kerusy every where. 
 
 That fuch was the Statue of 7'itus • re- 
 prefented on the other Side, where the Am- 
 phitheatre was placed ; and that it was 
 both remarkable and Angular, and had a 
 particular Affinity with the Amphitheatre, 
 feems to be evinced by its being twice re- 
 prefcntcd upon two different Medals, the 
 one ftruck while he was alive, which till 
 now had not been feen, the other after he 
 was dead, as appears from that in the fore- 
 going Plate, and both jointly reprefented 
 with the Amphitheatre : But ftill to confirm 
 what I have faid on this Head, I fliall here 
 produce one very material Paffage from Dio. 
 We read in the » Compendium of that Au- 
 thor, that in Fefpafiaifs Time, a Colofus of 
 ICO Foot in Height was erefled in the 
 Fia Sacra^ on which precifely the Amphi- 
 theatre flood, which fane faid was the Effigies 
 of Nero, others^ that of Tims. So that we 
 find there was a Remembrance of a Coloffus 
 
 of
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 41 
 
 of T'itus there ; and indeed the Thing is 
 moft likely, becaufe it had been ercfted by 
 f^efpajtan : And yet, notwithftanding all 
 thefe Arguments, I ftill efteem my firft 
 Opinion concerning the Name Colojfeumy as 
 more probable, and better founded in Rea- 
 fon than the other* 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of the repairing the Amphitheatre, 
 and the Medals relating thereunto. 
 
 I Am perfuaded that Domitian gave 
 fomc finiftiing Stroke to the Amphi- 
 theatre ; and though Hiftorians do not 
 mention it, yet, I judge my Conjefture is 
 right, from that moft rare Medal, in the 
 CoUeftion of the Great Duke of fufcany^ 
 with the Head of that Emperor on the one 
 Side, and the Amphitheatre on the Reverie, 
 and ftruck in the Time of his feventh Con- 
 fulate, namely, in the firft Year after his 
 Brother's Death. Within this Amphitheatre 
 he exhibited feveral odd Shews, luch as 
 naval Fights, wild Beafts, and gladiatory 
 Combats in the Night-time with Lights ; 
 and indeed not only Combats of Men, but 
 of Women alfo ; which laft Cuftom was 
 afterwards renewed, but at laft prohibited 
 in the Time of ' Severus. As to the wondcr- 
 
 ' Xl^h. in Sever, 
 
 ful
 
 41 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 ful Shews exhibited by 7rajany Hadrian y 
 Antoninus <PiuSy Marcus Commodusy the 
 Gordicwjy ^robusy and others ; the Authors 
 in the Hifioria Angtif.a fpeak of them, 'tis 
 true, yet we are not always ftrictly bound in 
 Confcience to believe fome Paffages therein, 
 I mean with regard to the Number of Men 
 and Beafts, and the rather, becaufe * Dio 
 gives us a very v/holefome Caution to the 
 contrary, becaufe flattering Fame is, he fays, 
 generally in the magnifying Side, the Cu- 
 ftom then in ufe being to aggrandize the 
 Relations they give of Things. Septlmius 
 Sever as y for the firft Time, expofed the 
 Crociitay an Indian Animal, to publick 
 View, and in the Area of the Amphithe- 
 atre built a Receptacle for thofe Animals 
 in Form of a Ship, which being thrown 
 down all of a fudden, four Hundred wild 
 Beafts of all Kinds came out. I believe in 
 XiphlUne it ought to be read forty, becaufe 
 in the Sequel it is mention'd, that in all, a 
 Hundred in a Day were kilPd y fo we can- 
 not fuppofe four Hundred brought out in 
 one fmgle Day. This Ship is reprelented 
 on a Medal of SeveruSy referred to by Mez^ 
 zabarha. 
 
 But in treating of thefe repaired Amphi- 
 theatres, the iirft was that oi j^ntoninus Pius^ 
 mentioned by Capitoljmij. The Author of 
 
 * Lib. 43, 'Ta';7« j^ 7» •niOAiTr^ '^ t5 ft^/^dy Myi'Trw-mh 
 
 the
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 45 
 
 the little Book relating to this Affair, pre- 
 fix'd to Gronovius's Greek Antiquities, was, 
 methinks, too liberal to that Emperor, 
 when he attributed the Fabrick of the Co- 
 lojpim to him ; nay, he likewife affirms, 
 that Terence had one of his Comedies reci- 
 ted in the Amphitheatre. Next follows the 
 Amphitheatre mentioned by LampridinSy and 
 repaired by Heliogabalus^ after it had been 
 burnt, * that is, after the great Damage it fu- 
 ftain'd by the Thunder that fell upon it, 
 and which had greatly deform'd it in the 
 Beginning of Macrinus's Government, aswc 
 learn from the Fragments in Dio : And yet 
 perhaps this Repairing of it was not per- 
 feded by HeViogahaluSy but in his Succef^ 
 for's Time, Alexander Severus^ fince we 
 have a Medal of the latter with the Am- 
 phitheatre rcprefented thereon. Capitolinus 
 in EfFeft fays, that he reftored feveral Fa- 
 bricks built by the Princes his Predeceffors : 
 And this fame Lampridius zytxs^ that the 
 Emperor appropriated the Tax laid on the 
 Whores, as a Fund for re-edifying all the 
 publick Buildings for Shews, perhaps, be- 
 caufe thefe Harlots were ufed to live in or 
 about fach Places. The fame i Author fays, 
 that after the two Gordians were flain, the 
 Conful, in the Time of thefe Revolutions, 
 for having mentioned Affairs of fmall Con- 
 
 * Tojl exuflionem, ' In Max. ^ Bdlb. 
 
 fequence,
 
 44 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 fequence, was reproved by him who Ipokc 
 firtt in the Senate : Among the Number 
 of which Things was not that de Edifica-- 
 tione^ the Building only, which Paffage 
 ♦ Ltpjius and * Spanhem quote, and which 
 would bear a different Meaning, but de ex^ 
 adi/rcationey the finifliing of the Amphi- 
 theatre. It is, however, moft credible, that 
 the giving the finifhing Stroke, in re-edify- 
 ing the Amphitheatre, was afterwards, in 
 the Time of Gordianus Piusy as appears by 
 that famous Medalion of him, with the Am- 
 phitheatre repiefented thereon : And not- 
 withftanding the Word Mtmipcentia in the 
 Legend feems to allude to the Games ex- 
 hibited, yet, the Analogy which the other 
 Medals have with fuch an Edifice, fhews 
 that v/e ought trather to underftand it in 
 the Manner I have mentioned, m.ore efpe- 
 cialiy fince CaptoUnus^ in the Life of Gor- 
 dia^y gives no Account of publick Games 
 celebrated by him, but of fome prepared 
 for that End, where were a thoufand Couple 
 of Gladiators, and a great Number of ftrange 
 Beafts ; all which Philip afterwards made ufc 
 of in the Lzidl feculares^ or fecular Games. 
 
 St. Jerome y in Eufebitus Chronic a^ be- 
 fides the above-mentioned Conflagration of 
 the Amphitheatre, fpeaks of another which 
 happened in the Time of Deciusy about 
 
 ♦ Amph, cap* 6. « Tr, Num. LJf, 3. <r. 7. 
 
 the
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 45 
 
 the re-edifying which I find no Mention 
 in Authors. What that was which did burn 
 on fuch Occafions, and why the Amphithe- 
 atre required to be fo frequently repaired, 
 we fliall fliew in another Place. The laft 
 Record we have of fuch a Kind of Da- 
 mage fuftain'd, is that mentioned in one of 
 * Conjiantlne's Laws, in the Year 321 ; when 
 MaximitSy the Prefed of RomCj declared 
 that the Amphitheatre had been ftruck from 
 Heaven, viz. with a Thunder-bolt, of 
 which Notice was given upon Account of 
 the Ominoufnefs believed to be in Thun- 
 der, and the Neceffity of having the Omen 
 interpreted. Of what regards the reftoring 
 or re-edifying thefc Fabricks, we might have 
 the laft Mention made in a Stone which 
 Monfignor Ctamfint is faid to have had in 
 Rome ^ where it is related, how T'heodorick 
 cufed the Colojpum to be repaired. ^Tis 
 not, I own, unlikely, but that may have 
 happened, confidering what a particular 
 Care that Emperor tool^ in prelerving the 
 fine Buildings at Rorae^ as we find in the 
 Far'w of Cciffiodonis : But Monfignor Btan- 
 chtnl (who was moft intimate with the 
 aforefaid Prelate, and who, after his Death, 
 took a great deal of Pains 10 put his Curio- 
 fitics in order, to add them to that ineftima- 
 ble Mnfaum of Cardinal Alexander Alhanl ) 
 
 * C(}d. Th, de Vagm, L i. k ta^:i Am^hkheatri. 
 
 aflures
 
 4^ Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 affures me, that there never was fuch a 
 Stone in Ciampm*s Colledion. In one of 
 Fahretti's ' Infcriptions are thefe Words, 
 V^lUcus j4mphttheatrly an Office never be- 
 fore known, and which fignify'd the Per- 
 ibn who had the Care of the Amphitheatre 
 given him. In ' CaJJiodorus's Time we find 
 the lame Word Villlcus made ufe of for a 
 Defender and Keeper. 
 
 The judicious Reader may have obfer- 
 ved, that very much is learned by Medals 
 in this AflFair, and indeed in the Sequel 
 he'll ftiU find their Ufe : Thofe Authors 
 who have treated on the Subjecl, ought to 
 have begun with this ; and yet Panvimusy 
 who defign'd to write thereon, was the on- 
 ly Pcrfon that ever thought of this Method, 
 and who, in his Ctrcenfian Games, has not 
 only given us the Medals, with the Circus 
 upon them, but thofe likewife of 7'itus ^ 
 Domtian^ and Alex and tr SeveruSy with the 
 Amphitheatre reprefented there ; for the Me- 
 dal of Gordlanus lAid not been publifhed 
 at that time. 
 
 The foremention'd Author has not given 
 us any Medal of l^ejpajtany ftruck v/hen 
 that Emperor was alive, but one after he 
 had been deified ; and 'tis not unlikely, 
 tho' at prefent not to be feen : For which 
 Reafon, fmce we have nothing but the Re- 
 
 ' Infc, ;?. 3. * Var, lib, ^. 39. 
 
 mains
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 47 
 
 mains of the Amphitheatre, I have thought 
 it convenient, firft to fhew the Figure of 
 the Structure as it was when entire, and 
 then to exhibit all the Medals whereon 
 it is found engraven, that fo by the Hifto- 
 ry we may have Light therein. The firft 
 which appears in the foregoing Plate an- 
 nexed, has, till now, not been {ctn nor pub- 
 liflied ; that of Divus Tttus is preferved in 
 a great Number of Colledions, but coined 
 while the Emperor himfelf was alive, and 
 in the Time of his laft Confulate, namely, 
 the eighth. It is of a more than common 
 Size, inlbmuch that it might be reckoned a 
 Medalion, if its Bulk was altogether fuffi- 
 cient, but in EfFed it is a Degree fmaller 
 than fome of the l?.rgeft Medals , as to its 
 being genuine, that 1 think is out of doubt, 
 and may be an Unic, for what we know as 
 yet : 'Tis in the Poffeffion of the noble 
 Chrijiln MartineUi at Venice^ to whofe 
 Bounty the Learned are greatly indebted. 
 Thefecond Medal of T/V^j, notwithftanding 
 'tis very rare, yet ftill is lefs curious than 
 the others, tho' the Original thereof, as is 
 here reprefented, and in my own Colledion, 
 is exceedingly rare, as being fomevvhat lar- 
 ger than the others, and of Lead, A cer- 
 tain Perfon, who has the greateil Skill in 
 thefe Things of any in this Age, in the 
 Eftimate he made of a Cabinet of Medals 
 (not with Defign to make a Purchafe of 
 
 them.
 
 48 Of Amphitheatres^ 
 
 them, but meerly for the Information of 
 the Proprietor) valued this one as being 
 much more curious and rare than any other 
 found of a different Metal. The firfl and 
 infallible Proof of its being genuine, is its 
 Lightnefs, in Comparifon with the like 
 Quantity of modern Lead ; the fecond, is 
 the inimitable Ruft thereon ; to this Ruft 
 we ought chiefly to attribute its Conferva- 
 tion, a thing uncommon in Lead really an- 
 tique : And befides, becaule the Medal is 
 not quite fo light as others are. I have a 
 Mithridates of Lead incredibly light ; but 
 as to that of which we are fpeaking, 'tis 
 plain, that the Evaporation thereof has 
 partly been hindered by the Ruft. The 
 other three Medals are in the Mtipeum of 
 the great Duke, where furely there is the 
 moft elegant and beft chofen CoUeftion that 
 is to be leen any where ; and in which like- 
 wife is the fecond Medal we mentioned of 
 T'itus^ but not that of Vefpajian^ nor others, 
 of which they boaft. 
 
 Seignor Baftiano Blanchlj the Keeper of 
 that Treafure, has greatly afliiled our 
 Defign, and is a Perfon no lefs to be 
 commended for Knowledge than Civility. 
 Some People, I doubt not, will wonder 
 why I have exhibited, thefe Medals only, 
 and not others, fo frequently to be 
 feen in Books, for no lels than eleven of 
 the like kind has Mezzabarba publifhed : 
 
 But
 
 Of Amvhitheatres. 49 
 
 But 'tis moft undoubtedly certain, that ex- 
 cept thole five already mentioned, 'tis very 
 difficult to find the Amphitheatre on any 
 Medal really genuine, fince hitherto the o- 
 thers, by which this Matter is pretended to 
 be illuftrated, are either Counterfeits, or have 
 been miftaken by People, who pretend to 
 fee Amphitheatres where in reality there are 
 none. I have obferved in fome Authors, 
 who go into the other extreme, that becaufe 
 of the many fpurious Coins handed about, 
 Ibme of which are even in famous CoUedi- 
 ons, they doubt of the whole, and believe 
 that the Amphitheatre is not all to be feen 
 upon any antique Coin. But ' Rafaele di Vol' 
 terra [who lived in an Age before this a- 
 bominable Pradice of falfifying Medals be- 
 gan] affirmed, that he had feen the Repre- 
 fentation of the Amphitheatre on feveral 
 Antique Coins i and indeed thefe exhibited 
 here, have paft the Cenfure of the greateft 
 Critiques in Medals of any we know. The 
 four already mentioned, at Florenccy have 
 been approved and regiftred by Vaillant as 
 genuine. The fecond is reckoned pretty 
 good, the third inconteftable, on account of 
 the remarkable Ruft on the Surface, which 
 is almoft of a black Colour ^ of imitating this 
 perfeftly, the Falfifyershavenotasyet found 
 out the Secret. The other two dcmonftrate, 
 that Arts were at that time in decay : in 
 them is the Piazza, or open Place feen, and 
 
 ' Comw.nrb.l6. E ^
 
 50 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S.. 
 
 a Man in the Attitude of fighting with a wild 
 Beaft. In the other a Bull, together with a 
 certain kind of Animal, with a Man on his 
 back, which according to my Draught, is 
 not an Elephant, as Ibme have expreffed 
 it. The laft is a Medalion , publifhed 
 from the fame Original, and celebrated by 
 5> SpanJoeim, One larger, and better pre- 
 fer ved, is faid to be in the famous Treafure 
 of Cardinal Alexander Albani, who, on ac- 
 count of the noble Ambition he has to en- 
 courage every kind of Learning, did moft 
 courteoufly fend me a Drawing thereof; but 
 I cannot enrich thefe Sheets with it, by rea- 
 Ibn that the Paffes being Ihut up on account 
 of the fear of Contagion, Copies of the faid 
 Drawing have more than once mifcarried. 
 The Medal of Alexander Se^verus has two 
 Figures reprefented on it, in the Adion of 
 going into the Amphitheatre, one third part 
 of their Body appearing on the Outfide of 
 the Entry, feeming to guard it, and this 
 part of it is a little defaced by Age 5 yet it 
 gives us to underftand, that the Figure re- 
 prefents a Hercules, And indeed by the 
 Coloffus on the Medalion, it does in effed 
 appear to be that God with a Club in his 
 hand, tho' not very perfeftly reprefented in 
 the engraving. 
 
 Another Medalion of Gordian defcribed 
 by Bonarotti^ fhevvs a Circus in Her ac lea 
 of Tontus^ in which is a Statue of Hercu-
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 5I 
 
 les. I have called ours a ColoJfuSj for fo it 
 appears; bat the indifferent Artifice fhewn 
 in thole two laft mentioned Coins, hinders us 
 from making any probable Conjedures about 
 them : yet we cannot pafs over in filence, 
 the Edifice which appears upon one Side of 
 the firft, and the Meta on the other. Fol- 
 terrano took them for two Fountains, but 
 indeed we cannot eftablifti any thing as a 
 Truth in thefe Matters. The one has been 
 by the Antiquaries commonly referred to, as 
 the Meta Sudans, which Place they call that 
 Fragment of a Wall remaining near the Am- 
 phitheatre at Rome, where they believe there 
 was a Fountain. The Figure feen on the Me- 
 dal we are now deicribing, is certainly very 
 like that on the Reverfe of a Coin of Titus 
 with the eighth Confulate ; and yet I cannot 
 conclude this for certain, more elpecially 
 fince ViBoT and Rufus place the Meta Su- 
 dans in a Situation remote from the Amphi- 
 theatre. We muft add, that in the Chroni-' 
 ca of CaJJiodorus, the Meta Sudans is rec- 
 koned among the principal and moft famous 
 Edifices at Rome: By this it appears to have 
 been fomething very confidcrable ; being 
 likewife enumerated among thofe Fabricks 
 built or reftored in the ninth Confulate of 
 T>omitian : and if erected then, 'tis certain 
 it could not have been repreiented as a Me- 
 dalof Titus, And if repaired, we ought 
 not, I think, to believe it was built lb very 
 foon after. E 2 Bojius
 
 51 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Bojius and Arringhi cite the written Afts 
 of St. Rejtitutus^ in which the Meta Su-^ 
 dans is mentioned, without telling where it 
 flood. Sometimes they find this Medal with 
 a Figure at the Top of the Pillar inftead of 
 a Lilly. But with regard to Pillars placed 
 over it, like a double Portico which are 
 feen on the Reverie of the Medal, no- 
 thing has as yet been faid on that Head. 
 The vulgar Prejudice which People have, 
 that the Medal has two feparate Buildings 
 reprelcnted upon it, and which Ibmetimes 
 feem really fo, afforded me feveral Conjec- 
 tures about them. Firft, I thought the Struc- 
 ture very much refembled the Bafilica^ like 
 that of Taultis c^yEmilius which we have 
 in the Confular Medals, and makes it evi- 
 dene, that thole were publick and lumptu- 
 ous Portico's, where the Citizens met to con- 
 fer about Affairs j and yet I had a Sulpicion, 
 that rather People of the greateft Note, when 
 the Sun was moll Icorching, might perhaps 
 have retired Ibmetimes to thole Places of 
 the Amphitheatre, and ordered fome Couples 
 of Gladiators to fight there, which Con- 
 jecture feem'd to allude to a Paffage in 
 » 'Dio, who fays, that when the Sun's Heat 
 was moft intolerable, inftead of the Theatre 
 they made ufe of the 'Dlribitorium. This 
 was an ample and covered Place which ferved 
 for the Rendezvous of the Soldiers. * Var" 
 
 » Lib. jp. a P. K, I'lh,'^. c, a. 
 
 ro
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 5^ 
 
 TO fays, the Edifice of the Villa Tublica 
 ferved for the lame ufe. But this Villa 
 Tublica is reprefented on the Coins of the 
 Vidian Family, and is exaftly like the E- 
 difice we find near the Amphitheatre. Then 
 I thought, that if this covered Place ferved 
 for a Retreat to thofe who had a mind to 
 reft themfelves, after having flood fo long 
 in the Amphitheatre, and then to return 
 foon to their Places ; ib did I imagine that it 
 might alfo then have ferved for People to re- 
 frefti themfelves a little, fince it was cfteem'd 
 indecent even to be leen to drink at thofe 
 publick Games: and this I learn from a Paffage 
 in 5 ^intiliariy where fpeaking of the Ro^ 
 man]eiiSf he mentions a fmart Reproof which 
 Augufius lent to one whom he perceived 
 drinking in the Amphitheatre, giving him 
 to underftand, that when he had a mind to 
 dine, he would chufe to go home to his 
 own Houfe \ and Lampridius relates it as a 
 piece of great Imprudence in CommoduSy 
 that he drank publickly in the Theatres and 
 Amphitheatres. I likewife imagined, that 
 I might conceive the Fabricfc we are men- 
 tioning to have been one of thofe Buildings 
 placed on the publick Street near the Colof- 
 fmmy for the Ufe of the Spectators, as ^ Mar- 
 tial fays. Or that I might confider it as an 
 Apodyterium or Spoliariuniy not in the Senfc 
 of Mortality, but where the Aftors put off 
 
 5 Lib. 6. 4 Mar. Sfe^. Ep. 2. 
 
 E 3 their
 
 54 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 their ufiial Habits, and the Gladiators drcffed 
 themfclves, and were fitted out for the So- 
 lemnity of the Day, and where the Pomp 
 of their entering the Amphitheatre was or- 
 dered. A Stone found laft Year near the 
 Amphitheatre of Capua, and exhibited in 
 the new Volume already mentioned, has 
 raifed in me this doubt, becaufe mention is 
 made therein of an Apdyterium in that Si- 
 tuation. 
 
 But finally rejecting all thofe Divifions, I 
 think 'tis more probable, that thofe Pillars 
 do not fhew it to have been a different Edi- 
 fice, but a kind of Vejlibul^ by the Greeks 
 called Tropyldea or 7rep7rt;Aa?a, and erected 
 before the other Building which was moft 
 frequented. In the moft famous antient 
 Struftures, a kind of outer Building was very 
 much in ufe, as an Ornament and Defence 
 to the principal Entry. 
 
 In fome Medals this Building does in cf- 
 feft appear join'd to the Amphitheatre it felf, 
 nay the two laft Coins ftiew the fame Situa- 
 tion covered, but with a very different Ap- 
 pearance. Hence 'tis probable, that in 
 latter Times, the firft having fallen down, 
 the ^ ropy la a had been rebuilt in another 
 Form. I was confirmed in this "Opinion, in 
 digging up the Ground before the Amphi- 
 theatre of Veronay correfpondent with the 
 lame Situation on the Medal, and there we 
 found large Pieces of African Marble Pil- 
 lars,
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. ^$ 
 
 Jars, which never had been placed elfewhere, 
 nor otherwife made ufe of in the Arena. 
 To this Mre may add, that at Captta, in the 
 fame Situation before the Amphitheatre there, 
 Pillars were alio found. I once law the 
 fecond Medal, which had two Figures placed 
 upon the Top of the Ant if or t a or Lodge;, 
 but as they had been touched with the Graver, 
 I did not regard them. Now fince we have 
 in this Chapter faid fo much on Medals, it 
 will not be difagreeable, to the Lovers of 
 liich Curiofities, to lee a Medal in every re- 
 fpeft Angular, nay even an Unic for what 
 IS yet known. On this the Front of a 
 Building is reprefented, with Pillars likewifc 
 placed one above another, with ifolated 
 Spaces between them. 
 
 E 4 
 
 Fail'
 
 ^6 O/'Amphitmeatres. 
 
 Vaillant imagined the Figure here to be a 
 Portico, having among his Greek Coins ex- 
 hibited a Draught of it from the fame Ori- 
 ginal i but in this he was miftaken, for be- 
 fides the different Idea it has of the Face, 
 and other Imperfections in the Drawing, it 
 rather Ihews it to be a b'ttle Frame of Timber 
 join'd together. Mejfalina, whom in this 
 place we ftile the New Juno^ can be no- 
 where feen fo lively in Effigy as here ; and 
 the fineTafte is the more obfervable, as being 
 on a Greek Medal. It was flruck in Nicea, 
 and bears the Name of the Proconful Gellius 
 Rujus ^ it is preferved in the Treafure of 
 the Tifani^ now Corraro^ but the Public 
 ought to acknowledge this curious Piece, as 
 proceeding from the Bounty of that magna- 
 r]imous and great Senator Signor Almoro-, to 
 whom Learning [on account of his Sump- 
 tuous Library, and for the many good Qua- 
 lities to which he is in many refpeds enti-? 
 tied] owes a great deal. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 of Amphitheatres. 57 
 
 CHAR VL 
 
 In what manner it may befatd^ that 
 in Rome there was but one Amphi- 
 theatre^ and how long the Ufe of it 
 lajied. 
 
 FROM what has been already faid, one 
 very important Truth may be gathered, 
 namely, That there was no other Amphi- 
 theatre at Romey but that oiTitus ; by which 
 I mean, a perfefl: one made ufe of for their 
 folemn Games. For there is no Memory of 
 any other to be found on Medals, nor do 
 the Vefttgta of any other appear in the Plan 
 we have of old Rome : As it is figured out 
 on a Marble Pavement of a Temple, the 
 greateft part of which is preferred in the 
 Palace Farnefcy and publifhed by ^ Bellori. 
 There, indeed, are three Theatres to be feen. 
 * Thilander on Vitruvms fuppofes, that there 
 was too great an Abundance of Amphitheatres 
 in Rome^znd no lefs than feven ftone Theatres, 
 which he enumerates one by one j tho' in rea- 
 lity of fixed Theatres there were only three. 
 He ranges them in the following Order : 
 Firft, that of CaJJius^ mentioned by Tater- 
 
 * Romt, 1673. fol. * Ad lib.f. c,^. fed futo po- 
 
 Am^hitheatris acci^ienda. 
 
 cuius
 
 58 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 culus^ which is much anterior to the Amphi- 
 theatres, or indeed to Theatres of Stone ei- 
 ther ; nor was that Fabric ever finifti'd. He 
 places likewife that of Caligula^ which was 
 anunfinifli'd Amphitheatre too, and of wood, 
 as was that of Nero. The other of Corne- 
 lius Balbiis was a Theatre. That of Clau- 
 dius^ mentioned by Suetonius^ was neither 
 a Theatre nor Amphitheatre. The Theatre 
 of Efquilinus^ Philander and others fay, 
 is fpoke of by Martial-^ but he only 
 mentiond a Water- Theatre, in the Street 
 called the Suburra^ which Father ^ ^onatij 
 with very good Realbn, doubts if it was any 
 thing elfe but a Fountain in form of a 
 Theatre. Finally, Philander reckons that 
 built by Trajan, in the Campus Martius, 
 to have been an Amphitheatre, but very loon 
 deftroy'd by his Succeflbr Hadrian^ of which 
 Spartianus makes mention. A late ^ Col- 
 ledor of Antiquities, has likewife reckoned 
 that of Trajan to have been one of the Am- 
 phitheatres of Rome : I own he might with 
 Ibme fliadovv of reafon be of that opinion, 
 fince * Taufanias calls it, A great TheatrCy 
 round in every "Tart, And yet becaufe it 
 was a Strufture not of a very common fort, 
 is there any reafon why it Ihould be called 
 a Theatre ? In thofe times they had not yet 
 
 3 Roma vet. 116.'^. c. lo. 4 Montfaucon c.j. />. ij'S. 
 
 begun
 
 (y Amphitheatres. 59 
 
 begun to confound the Names of thofe Build- 
 ings one with the other ; but why fliould it 
 be called a Theatre, not only by Taufa-- 
 niaSj but Spartianus alfo, who in the fame 
 Life, when it occurs, calls the Amphitheatre 
 by its own proper Name ? But we fliall, in 
 another place, give a more certain proof of 
 this, and ftiew what kind of a Theatre that 
 of Trajan was. Our prefent defign is not 
 to treat of all thole which really were never 
 Amphitheatres, but of that oi StatiliusTaurus 
 and the Caftrenflan one, as we hear they are 
 mentioned by ViBor and Rufus in the De- 
 Icription they have left us of the fourteen 
 Regions of Rome^ wherein mention is made 
 of three Amphitheatres. 
 
 With regard to that of Taurus, we have 
 already fliewn how very inconfiderable it 
 was, even when firft built, and how after- 
 wards it was burnt down in Neros Time, 
 the Ruins and Name thereof being fubfift- 
 ing, were the Caufe why ViBor has men- 
 tioned them: For we cannot believe, that 
 the Edifices, and the Things Ipoke of by 
 him, were all remaining entire and in uie 
 in his time. As to the Caftrenjian one, we 
 have realbn to believe, that it was ftill left 
 confiderable than fhe other, feeing no where 
 clle mention is made of it. There were 
 Emperors, 'tis true, who to gratify the ^ Prse- 
 
 5 Dio. lib. 5-4. c* £to73/f Tvii T^T^TnJhii' 
 
 torian
 
 6o Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 torian Soldiers, fometimes caus'd Gladiatory 
 Games to be performed in their Quarters, of 
 which Augttftus gave Example ^ and there 
 was a fmall Amphitheatre erefted perhaps 
 by Tiberius^ who in Perfon attended the 
 CaJlrenJtanGzmcs, and where, 'tis "^ reported, 
 that he fhot a wild Boar with an Arrow j 
 yet as he was no Admirer of publick Shows, 
 'tis more credible that this was the Work of 
 • Claudius^ who likewife exhibited Gladia- 
 tory Combats in the Prastorian Quarters every 
 Year. But as the Strufture was of Cnall Im- 
 portance, it defer v'd not to be mention d by 
 Writers. 
 
 That Ruin of Brick, and not of Stone, 
 which appears within the Walls of Rome^ 
 near the Monaftery of Santa Croce in Geru^ 
 falemme, is to this day believed to be the 
 Remains of that Amphitheatre \ the Know- 
 ledge of which Particular we owe entirely 
 to Tanvinius^ who has fliewn it in his Map 
 of Romey and in his Book of Circenjian 
 Games thereby correded the Errors of le- 
 veral other Authors. And indeed, from what 
 remains thereof, we may ftill conjecture that 
 the interior part was of Wood : and as it has, 
 ever fince Aurelian*s time, been built up 
 within the Walls of Rome^ and made ufe of 
 there as a Bulwark 5 wc may thereby know 
 how long it is fince the ufe of it has been 
 
 •^ Su.Ti^i. V. Suet. c. J4 6* 47. « In ClauJ, r. 2 1. 
 
 Amiverfar'mm in Caftris, ^c. 
 
 laid
 
 of Amphitheatres^ 6i 
 
 laid afide. It is not ic> ealy to learn where 
 that of Taurus was, fince no known Re- 
 mains thereof exift at prelent, nor do ancient 
 "Writers afford us any great Light therein. 
 Vanvinius reckons the Walls of the Garden 
 of SpadUy in the Mount Talatine^ to be Part 
 thereof, but they rather leem to be the Re- 
 mains of a Theatre than of an Amphitheatre. 
 For my part, be that as it will, I am apt 
 to believe that Taurus s Fabricfc was of no 
 very long Duration ; and in this Opinion I 
 am the rather confirmed from an Epiftle of 
 Cajjiodorus, which mentions that Building to 
 have been thrown down in Theodorick's 
 time, and the Place where it flood converted 
 to a private Ufe. 
 
 For we know that that King ordered the 
 9 Tower, CiratSj and Place where it flood, to 
 be reftored to two noble Minors, as having 
 been their Father's Property, and unjuflly 
 taken from them. By this Paflage I under- 
 ftand the whole as fpeaking of the Amphi- 
 theatre after it was ruined ; for which rea- 
 Ibn, the Place where it had flood was then 
 become private. The like I do of the Tower 
 which had been erecled in a Situation where 
 fome Circus had formerly been built, and 
 where the Ruins only remained. The Au- 
 thor of the T^iarium Italicum underflood 
 the Meaning of thefe Words as if it had been 
 a diftinft Place given to the foreraentioned 
 
 5 Tarrht CircHSy At que locum Am^hitheatri. 
 
 Sena-
 
 6l 0/ Amphitheatres* 
 
 Senatorian Family, for feeing the Games iti 
 the Amphitheatre, and a Tower in the Circus 
 aiEgn'd over to them, for beholding the 
 Games from it, which, he fays, was a great 
 Honour done them. But among fo great a 
 number of Latin and Greek Authors who 
 fpeak of the Circusy none have made any 
 mention of Towers therein j and if there had 
 been any, 'tis more likely it would have 
 been allotted to the common People, to view 
 the Games from it ; fince 'tis certain, that 
 the Places appointed for the Senators were in 
 the loweft Rank of all, and neareit the Field 
 of Combat. The Boxes [as one may fay] 
 of the Circus y were, I own, call'd Speiia- 
 cula & Foriy but never Turres, The Seat 
 of the Confuls, and thofe of the firft Rank 
 of Magiftrates, are called by ' ° Livjiy Foros 
 ^ubltcos ; and indeed the Emperor Claudius 
 afFign'd over the Privilege of fitting in the 
 Circus to the Senators in common, and not 
 to certain Families ; and this Order, as ^^Tiio 
 tells us, wa obferv'd in After-times, fo that 
 no particular Perfon could, generally Ipeak- 
 ing, ufurp a peculiar Place to himlelf in the 
 Amphitheatre, becaufe the Todium or 
 Boxes, built all round the Fabric, were ap- 
 propriated for the Senatorian Order alone : 
 The Equites had their particular Places alfo, 
 tho' the Seats were taken up by the firft 
 
 "«o £.4j. init, ti lib. Co. 
 
 Comers,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 6} 
 
 0)mers, provided they were of that Order : 
 Hence it was that the Roman Knight al- 
 ready mentioned, whom Atigufius gave to 
 underftand, that when he had a mind to 
 dine, he would go home to his own Houfe, 
 fent that Emperor this Anfwer; fays '* he, 
 So you may-, fince you need not fear lofing 
 your Seat, By which it appears, that when 
 they left their Seats, others might take pof- 
 feffion of them. Promifcuous jlitting was af- 
 terwards in ufe on the Pafchal Days, be- 
 caufe publick Shows vi^ere not exhibited then; 
 for on all Feftivals and folemn Days they 
 were expreflly prohibited by ' ^ Valentinian* 
 The Cc«itext does likewife ftiew, that they 
 dilputed about the Utility and the Places 
 poffeffed by their Fathers, according to the 
 Jus Commune-, not de Honortficentia: So 
 that I think with much Probability, we may 
 conjecture that here it is fpoken of the Si- 
 tuation of 7'^//r//i"'s Amphitheatre, demolifhed 
 at that time, and of a Tower which took 
 its Name from a Circus which formerly had 
 flood in that Place ; and fo we read in an 
 ancient ' ^ Chronica of the Biftiops of ^eri- 
 gord^ cited by du Cange^ how a certain Perfon 
 in the Tlace of the Arena built a Tower, 
 
 The common Language of both Chriftian 
 and Pagan Writers makes it evident, that 
 one only Amphitheatre was in ufe at Rome^ 
 
 »* ^Htil. 1,6 c.%, '5 Coi, Th. I. if. t.f. 
 
 »4 K. Arena fufra locum ArtnttrHm Turrim Mif-ffi'^-it. 
 
 and
 
 d4 Of Amphitheatres* 
 
 and had that Denomination given it, none 
 being diftinguilhed by any particular Epi- 
 thet, and when they commonly exprefs, that 
 the Amphitheatre was repaired^ he was 
 led into the Amphitheatre^ the Games were 
 exhibited in the Amphitheatre^ SCc. with- 
 out meaning any other , 'tis certain that they 
 underftood thereby the Amphitheatre of 27- 
 tus : which plainly ftiews, that there was 
 that one only, fince they did not call Tom" 
 fefs Theatre, the Theatre^ by way of Pre- 
 eminence, notwithftanding it was more fump- 
 tuous than the reft. Ammianus^ Ipeaking 
 of the Emperor Confians's Entry into Rome^ 
 mentions the moft famous Edifices remaining 
 at that time, among others, '* the Amphi- 
 theatre, without adding any thing elfe, and 
 the Theatre of Tompey^ in order to diftin- 
 guiOi it from the others. In the Fragments of 
 ©/^, publifhed by the great Fulvius Orji* 
 nus^ together with his Legationes, now col- 
 lefted into a Body of Hiftory of Conjian- 
 tinus Torphyrogenitus^ we read of feveral 
 Prodigies [for fuch they believe them] one 
 of which happened in the Beginning of 
 Macrinuss Reign. Among the others, of 
 Thunder which fell on the Top of the Am- 
 phitheatre, and where fuch a ftubbornCon- 
 flagration enfued, that neither by the Water 
 pour'd thereon like Rivers, nor the vaftRain 
 which fell at that Time, could it be extin- 
 
 " L. i6. c, 20. 
 
 guiflaed,
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 6$ 
 
 guifhed, ^ ^ t^e Water and the Rain dryino- 
 Mp fo fajl^ by the Violence of the Flames 
 from Heaven, that the Amphitheatre it 
 felf ivas damaged all round, infomitch that 
 for many Tears^ publick Shews and Gladia- 
 tor y Combats were performed in /-^(f Circus. 
 
 This PafTage alone confirms all I aim at, 
 becaufe it fhevvs, that this muft have been 
 the Amphitheatre of Titus^ there being no 
 other in which they could exhibit the Games 
 in the mean time, fince they were obliged to 
 bring the Gladiators into the Circus, 
 
 We may like wife obferve, from the Words 
 juft now citedj and by the whole PafTage, 
 that notwithftanding that great Conflagration, 
 theAmphitheatre was however not confumed, 
 like that of Taurus^ mentioned by the fame 
 ©/^,as it would feem to read in the Latin Ver- 
 fion, which very injudicioufly renders it de- 
 flagravit y but as it may be elfewhere ob- 
 ferved, by the Fire that was kindled from 
 above, the inner Side, and the Things ap- 
 pertaining thereto, were only confumed, tho' 
 there is no doubt but other Parts of the 
 Building fuffered alio. 
 
 There is one thing which I think proper 
 to add, for corroborating what I have al- 
 ready laid, and what I am elfewhere to 
 prove, from the Subftance of this PafTage, 
 and it is this; that by mending the Text, and 
 
 yiav kvTw r<*c/)'(y 6h t^/^O' '^t^ 2 7X-Ait3i> 
 
 F changmg
 
 66 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 changing only four Letters, I read the Word 
 ijfet^lpflflcpTu, Orjtmis and Leunclavius in his 
 fine Edition of T>lo, write ^"^ ^t^iyin^m^ 
 but without any meaning at all ; hence it is, 
 that the Verfion in the fecond, neither a- 
 grees with it felf, nor reads well ; Aliqutd 
 tamen ex ea parte manfit integrum, tmde 
 Sftiiacula Gladiatorum multis in Stadia 
 deinceps annis edit a fuenmt ; not Aliquidy 
 I lay, but the Building it felf, ^oiz,. the Amphi- 
 theatre; not ^;c eaparte^ hi\i in parte -^ not 
 tamen^ which is not to be found there, and 
 confounds the Senle \ above all, it mull not 
 be read manfit Integrum^ becaufe it would 
 not be well deduced from thence, that there- 
 fore they could not exhibit the Shews any 
 more there ; but on the contrary, that it was 
 fpoiled, which might well follow, that there- 
 fore they were obliged for many Years to make 
 ufe of the Circus, The worthy Ecclefiaftic 
 Micolo Falcone^ who lately has done honour 
 ioRome^y having brought to light, traijflated 
 and illuftrated, many Parts oiJJio, which had 
 never been feen before ; I fay,of ©/^.tbat great 
 HiRorian, every Paragraph of whom, with 
 regard to the Roman Hii1:ory, is a Treafure. 
 This Gentleman, Falcone ^ perhaps knowing 
 that in this Place ^^^g-yeVenj, fuperfuit^ can- 
 not run well, has wrote it 'ur^tnykviTiy but 
 that would methinks agree rather worfe with 
 the Author's meaning, fignifying, they ad- 
 
 ded $
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 6^ 
 
 ded i whereas the Senie here requires to be 
 read, thej dejtroyed^ or demclifhed. 
 
 How long the Ufe of Amphitheatres re- 
 mained at Rome^ cannot be eafily determined; 
 the firft Laws enafted againft all kind of 
 bloody Games, began in ConJIantine's Time, 
 and in the Year 325, Gladiators were ex- 
 preffly forbid : not only thole of the Volun- 
 teers of that Profeflion were included, but 
 the Combats of the prefl: ones alio ; the laft 
 of whom^ inftead of fighting, were condemned 
 to the Mines, and yet the forefaid Combats 
 continued for a long Time ; that Law, per- 
 haps, regarding only thofe in the Eaft. As 
 to this, we have the Authority of Sozomen^ 
 which we ftiall very foon produce. 
 
 In the fame Age, Conjiantine piiblilhed 
 another Decree againft them, as did like- 
 wife Honorms, tho' under the Reign of the 
 latter they Hill continued at B,ome. For 
 which Realbn '^ Trudtntms in the Begin- 
 ning of the fifth Age, warmjy exhorted that 
 Emperor to extirpate them, which he after- 
 wards did. The firft Step he took to this, 
 was to banifli thofe fighting People out of 
 the Country; and this chiefly, for an Acci- 
 dent v/hich happened, and is related by Tkeo- 
 doret in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. A cer- 
 tain Perfon, called Tekmachis^ by Profefiion 
 a Monk, who came from the Eaft, happened 
 on fome folemn Day to go into the Amphi- 
 
 '^ Prud. de Virg, 
 
 ' ^'' F z theatre^
 
 68. 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 theatre, where he began to endeavour all 
 he could to hinder the Combatants from fight- 
 ing : this unexpeded Incident lb enraged the 
 Spectators, that withouffurther ado, rufliing 
 on him, they tore him to pieces j for which, 
 fays our Author, and ' ^ Sozomen alfo relates 
 the lame, the Rofnans were for the firft time 
 forbid liich Games. Tis true, notwithftand- 
 ino- this, they did not want Amphitheatrical 
 Games among them, and fierce ones too ; but 
 fuch were only performed by wild Beafts. 
 
 Cicero in feveral places diftinguiflies the 
 Gladiators from thcBeJliaru^ called Hunters, 
 or Venator es Anenarii. As to this, fee Bid- 
 lin'^er^ who has treated largely on this Head. 
 *° Symmachtis fays, that any Feaft, tho' 
 ever fo famptuous, was not at all relilhed, 
 if the braveft of thefe Be ft tar ii did not fight. 
 The various and furprifing Ways by which 
 they engaged with the wild Beatts, the Dex- 
 terity, theAddrefs, and the Inftruments they 
 made ufe of on that Occafion, may particu- 
 larly be gathered from fome Palfages in Ter- 
 tullian^ Vopifcus and Trudentms s but a- 
 boveall, from that Epiftle of "-' Cajjiodorus^ 
 who defcribes them accurately, and which 
 may be compared with the Figures repre- 
 fented in the two * T^ittkt^ publilhed by T. 
 
 ^9 Soz.. I. f. c, 8. 71X1.^. cfi Pcou^iQig TO T5 'Ts-^&TJV » Tcoy 
 l/.o\oij.aiyc)V gAi/6'r) 6fc£t. deven. *° Circ. I. j. Ep. j-p. *' Far. 
 lib, f. 41. 
 
 * Whether the Author menns Dyprics, h a, ^uefiion.fmce he t^f- 
 terwarJs mentions Tigures re^refented in them: prhaps the 
 iVord is derivdfrom J^s/pf** /^/-
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 6*9 
 
 Viltemiusj where Ibme of thefe Entertain- 
 ments are ieen exprefled. 
 
 In the time of Symmachus^ there was a 
 Tax laid on the Animals allotted for the 
 Games, namely, a fortieth Part 5 the which 
 appears in that place, where he complains, 
 "■^ that they made thofe, polTefTed of 
 Dignities, pay that Tax alfo, fince it ought 
 only to fall, he fays, on the trading* 
 People. If we believe Theophanes ^ a- 
 bout the End of the fifth Age, the Empe- 
 ror Anaftafitis prohibited the fighting with 
 wild Beafts alfo ; bat the two forementioned 
 ^ittict fhew us bloody Battels of wild 
 Beafts at Conflanttnople, in the time of the 
 izmo A7iajiajius^ who, together with Aga- 
 pitus^ was Oriental Conful, namely in the 
 Year 517. At Rome in 519, we find there 
 were the fame kind of Shews: Entaricus 
 Cillica having on occafion of being made 
 Conful, exhibited them in the Amphitheatre in 
 afblemn Manner, caufing a Number of wild 
 Beafts from Africa to be brought thither on 
 purpofe, of which Senatormsmlns Chronica 
 makes mention, informing, that in his time 
 they began to wear out of ufe, yet they 
 continued in the 523^ Year, Annicius Max- 
 imtis having exhibited them in his Confu- 
 late. The fame ^^ Caffiodorus defcribing 
 them, ufes this Expreffion, That "People 
 went with Tleafure to fee what Human 
 
 F 3 Na-
 
 70 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 . Nature ought to have looked upon with 
 
 Horror- 
 
 We muft not pafs over in filence that o- 
 ther ufe made of the Amphitheatre ; name- 
 ly, for punifhing Criminals : of this we have 
 manyTeftimonies inWriters, and that both the 
 Theatre and Circus were alfo uled for the 
 fame Parpofe. ^^ Suetonius fpeaks of a 
 
 ■ certain Criminal, who was whipp d in all 
 the 1 heatres ; and Vhilo mentions, that ano- 
 ther v/as burn'd alive in the Hippodromus. 
 Sitidas fpeaks of a third, who underwent 
 the iiim.e Puniihment. May, LdBantius ex- 
 claims bitterly againft the People's taking 
 pleafure in fuch kind of Executions; a 
 Cuftom which very often made the Am- 
 phi-heatres confecrated with the Blood of 
 Martyrs, v/ho were reckoned Malefadors 
 by the Pagans ; for at the Time of any 
 general Calamity, the People ufed to cry 
 out, -^ Let the Chriftians be thrown to the 
 Lions i as if from that Seft all their Evils 
 proceeded. Thofe who were expofed, they 
 fometimes' tied fall, in order to be devoured 
 
 I all at once : at others, allowed 'em to ftruggle 
 and light with them, in order to prolong 
 the horrid Entertainment. The Cuftom al- 
 io of making Prifoners of War fight one 
 witli another like Gladiators [of which Han^ 
 Tiihcd ihew'd an Example in the Roman 
 Prijoners J lafted at leaft to the End of the 
 
 ^f JLHg.c. 4j:. =-f Tm. Ap. cap, 40. 
 
 fourth
 
 Of Amphitheatres, ^r 
 
 fourth Age. SymmachuSj Ipcaking of the 
 Saxons and Sarmat£, fays, they prefented 
 themfelves like Gladi uors. However, in 
 the fixth Century the Amphitheatrical Games 
 were quite left off. Juft'mian, as we learn 
 from Trocopitis^ banifhed them all out of 
 Conftantinopk^ and the other Cities of the 
 Eaft. Nor indeed after that Century do 
 we find an^ more mention made of them 
 even in Italy ^ at which Time the great 
 Amphitheatre of Tilus was rendered uft- 
 lefs; quite abandoned, and liable to the 
 Injuries of Men and Weather. It was in- 
 deed unlucky for that Fabrick, that by 
 the Decreafe of the Inhabitants, the Part 
 of the City contiguous to it, became delb- 
 late and uninhabited, and for many Ages 
 reckoned like the Country. But this much 
 is fufEcient with regard to the Amphitheatre 
 in Rome-, we Ihall now proceed to the 
 others out of that City. 
 
 F 4 CHAP.
 
 yi O/'Amphitheatres. 
 
 CHAP. VII. * 
 
 "That it was wrong to think Amphi- 
 theatres were built in every City of 
 the Roman Empire \ the fir Jl Re- 
 mark that is fnade here^ is to confi- 
 der how it was in Greece. 
 
 TH E Maxim of the Romans being to 
 people the World with Colonies of 
 their own Citizens, the Privilege of being 
 a Roman Citizen produced this Effed on 
 the other People • namely, To transform 
 thole who enjoyed it likewiie into Romans 
 alio, whereby the Diverfioiis of that Na- 
 tion became likewife Univerfal. 
 
 In one oiAJintus Tollios Epiftles, we learn, 
 that even in * Tullfs time Gladiators and 
 Wild Beafts were in ufe in Spain, In the 
 Reign of NerOy luch Shews were given by 
 the 'Tr£ fides ^ or Governors of Provinces ; 
 ^ Tacitus tells us, that he prohibited that 
 Cuftom. Other Cities and People were like- 
 wife exceedingly anxious to have Edifices 
 among them, wherein their famous Games 
 might be feen with advantage : And in- 
 deed in feveral places there was an Emula- 
 tion for having an Amphitheatre 5 nay, if 
 
 we
 
 0/ AmPHIT HEATR ES. 75 
 
 we were to relate the VulgarOpinion, and what 
 we find written in perhaps a thouiand Books, 
 thatFabrick was the moft frequented of any 
 in all the Parts of the Roman Empire ; in- 
 fomuch that every City had one to adorn it. 
 Nay, it has been reckoned a piece of Un- 
 fcindnels in the Writers of particular Hiftories, 
 if they have not made a Prelent of an Am- 
 phitheatre to their native Country, elpecially 
 fince they could give it with ib Imall an 
 Expence. And this the rather, fince all thole 
 learned Men have ^ Lipjius for their Leader, 
 who affirms, that they were commonly to be 
 feen in all the TrovinceSy where likewife 
 were feveral Theatres, Stadia^ and Circus' s^ 
 and that it was a rare thing, if in any Co- 
 lony or Mimicipium fuch Fabricks were 
 not to be found. This Chimera in our time 
 has daily gained ground, infomuch, that 
 we read in the late CoUeftion of '^ Antiqui- 
 ties delineated, that not only every City had 
 its Amphitheatre^ but that whereas ^ RomCy 
 the Metropolis of the World, and the na- 
 tive Country of fuch Wonders, had proper- 
 ly fpeaking, but one Amphitheatre ; yet in 
 the Neighbourhood of the City of Autun in 
 Burgundy^ like Plants which bud forth^ 
 there might have been many, 
 
 3 Ca^. I. CrebrA acbnodum in Trovincits: ^ Montf. I, 5, 
 -p, 25-9. ^ P. 261. In Agro Augufto-Dumnfi flurima Am- 
 ■fhlthentra Solo p^ne ^qtiata njifuntur. 
 
 But
 
 74 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 But as I am my felf of a quite contrary- 
 Opinion, I do pofitively aflert, that no Edi- 
 fice whatibever, was fb uncommon and rare 
 as thisj nay, that very few Cities had a 
 fixed Amphitheatre in them, the Truth of 
 which I ftiall be at no fmall pains to evince : 
 Firft, As being very neceflary in treating on 
 the Subject of Amphitheatres in general ^ 
 and next, That I may be able thereby to 
 clear up the many Miftakes of thofe, 
 who in treating on other Things, are mifled 
 by this common and falfe Suppofition. 
 
 The firft Proof for the Truth of my Af- 
 ierticn, may appear plain to the Eyes of all 
 thofe who have rightly confidered the Re- 
 mains of the Amphitheatres of Rome and 
 Verona^ and where 'tis eafy to be proved, 
 that the one was the moft fuperb Strudure 
 of any of which the Romans could have 
 an Idea, and of fuch Architedure and Bulk, 
 that many Cities could not poffibly be fur- 
 nifhed with the Materials neceffary for its E- 
 reclion $ the whole Roman Power having 
 never brought it to its Perfeftion, even in 
 the Time of Vefpajian : and notwithftanding 
 Rome J that little World, had, ^sFitruvius 
 tells us, feven Circiy befides the Circus 
 Alaximus^ yet, as we have already Ihewn, 
 one only Amphitheatre there, was fit for 
 publick Games. Another Proof we have 
 for the Truth of this AlTertion, is by ob- 
 ferving in how very few Places there are 
 Remains of Amphitheatres to be feen at 
 
 pre-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 75 
 
 prefent. Since 'tis certain, that where a Fa- 
 brick had been of the fame Extent and Di- 
 menlion with that of Verona, 'tis hard to 
 imagine it fo intirely ruin'd, as that not ib 
 much as the leaft Remains ftiould now be 
 found thereof; for the interior Parts and 
 Foundation can fcarcely be imagined to have 
 been deftroyed without Hands, and if de- 
 moiilhed by Hands, it could not be done, I 
 think, without the greateft Difficulty : Now 
 fince fuch an Annihilation has not happened 
 at Verona^ which by reafon of its Situation 
 was more than any other City expofed to 
 frequent Incurfions, to War, to Changes and 
 Deftruftion, much lefs then could the like 
 Ruin happen in the other City, which had 
 not thofe Calamities. To this I add, that 
 'tis beyond my Comprehenfion, how fuch an 
 immenfe Quantity of vaft folid Iquare 
 Stones, as that of an Amphitheatre, could fo 
 effedually vanilh, or why in the other Build- 
 ings of fuch ancient Cities, the Stones are 
 not to be feen in plenty, fince no body has 
 furely taken the Pains to grind them to 
 Powder, and that they did not take them 
 out of the old Buildings, and make ufe of 
 them in the newj for in Verona we have 
 certain Evidences, that the Stones of the 
 luind Part of the Amphitheatre, are Hill 
 in the Walls of the old Caftle, in the Bafement 
 of the Wail which furrounds the Palace of the 
 Scalig rs^ m the Bridges, anddilperfed here 
 and there in other Places.
 
 7(5 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 A Curfory Journey through the Roman 
 Provinces, might give a more certain Proof 
 for confirming this Fad ; and I would glad- 
 ly know, in the firft place, what Country 
 ought to have abounded fo much in thole 
 kinds of Fabricks as Greece ? where the De- 
 fire for publick Shews was fo fervent, and 
 where the Art of Building flourifh'd fo very 
 confpicuoufly, and where fo great a Plenty of 
 Marble was to be found? And yet there 
 were no Amphitheatres in Greece^ as is ma- 
 nifeft by the filence of all Writers therein ; 
 nay, by the Grecian Monuments themfelves ; 
 io that I think one may fafely believe, in a 
 Country where there was not fo much as 
 one Stone but what was famous, that fuch 
 a Building as an Amphitheatre would furely 
 not have remained unknown and forgot. 
 Vaiifanias^ that accurate Defer iber oi Greece y 
 has never fo much as once named an Am- 
 phitheatre there; no more has ^ Tolhix^ 
 notwithftanding the latter has enlarged con- 
 fiderably on the Subjeft of the Theatre. 
 On the contrary, he pofitively denies there 
 ever was any Amphitheatre there. The 
 fame Author informs us of two different 
 Kinds of Shews in Greece^ the one Gym- 
 naJliCy the other Scenic \ and that the Sta- 
 dium was the Place for the former, the 
 Theatre for the latter. Of the five different 
 Sorts of Games that were fo famous in Greece ^ 
 
 6 L. 5. c. 30. 
 
 I neither
 
 O/" Amphitheatres* 77 
 
 neither the Gladiators, nor the wild Beafts had 
 any part therein, the which may be feen in 
 the Anthologia^ and in many other Books 
 where mention is made of thofe Games. 
 
 I had the Curiofity to look into a Manu- 
 fcript of this Anthologia, wherein I hoped 
 to find more than what we commonly have 
 rn Print : the whole is wrote by Maxmtts 
 Vlanudes, the laft Perfon who collefted 
 Greek Epigrams ; the Code it felf is pre- 
 ferved in the publick Library of "^ St. Markj 
 and towards the End, contains that-Verfion 
 of St.- Johns Golpel, in Heroic Verfe, which 
 begins A'^^^gv©* riv dxiycnr^^^y &C. It was 
 firll publifhed by Aldus ^ and efteem'd com- 
 monly to be the Work of NonnuSy Author 
 of the T>ionifiacs 5 but the Manufcript it felf 
 afferted it to be of Ammonius, , the Philofb- 
 pher and Rhetorician, A'/uLfJiovta (fiKoaScp^i ?$ 
 piDp©- jM,$Ta/3c?A^l, &c. At the Bottom there- 
 of we learn, that it was wrote by Maximus. 
 TlanudeSy at Conjiantinople^ in the Mo- 
 naftery of our Saviour, whom they fur- 
 name the Incomprehenfible, ^afi Maf/^» 
 
 A'xc6TaA777r7« eirovofJicc^ofA.ii'yiv '* Before it, IS 
 the AnthologicL wrote by the lame Hand; 
 and yet we have found no other Epigrams 
 but thofe that are printed, nor had there been 
 any, I am certain we Ihould have found 
 
 I III. 5-. 8. 
 
 other
 
 yS 0/ Amphitheatres- 
 
 other mention made ofAmphitheatricalGames^ 
 than thole we know already. 
 
 There was therefore no Motive for build- 
 ing Amphitheatres in Greece^ fince the Peo- 
 ple there were Strangers to them, nor indeed 
 were liich kinds of Shews much efteemed 
 in that Country. 
 
 In two Cities only, and on a certain Oc- 
 cafion, they were admitted, as we have al- 
 ready hinted, namely, at Athens and C^- 
 rinth. And as to their having been a Marble 
 Amphitheatre at Athens, as is mentioned 
 both by ^ Thtlander on VitruviuSy and 
 Lipjius too; this perhaps they give us with- 
 out any Authority. Herodes the Attic^ 
 'tis true, in his Attempts for Magnificence, 
 built the Athenians two fuch ftately Struc- 
 tures, as had not then their Equal in all the 
 Roman Empire, as ^ Thilofiratus afferts ; 
 and that w^hich he did ereft of Marble, was 
 only a Stadium for the Games of the Ath~ 
 let£j and one Theatre : And indeed thofe 
 who have fearched diligently among the 
 Ruins of that City, have found no Veftige 
 of an Amphitheatre there ; nay, how very 
 falfe the Opinion is, that they had fuch 
 Strudures, may be gathered from '° Spar- 
 tianus, who fays, that w^hen Hadrian was 
 at Athens, and being defirous to celebrate 
 a Combat of wild Beafts, he gave the 
 
 ® Vhil, ad I. f. c. 5". 9 In Vit. Her. *o Athenis mlllp 
 
 terrarnm vmmonem in Studio exhibuit, 
 
 fame
 
 Of A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 79 
 
 lame in \k\.^ Stadhim, Moreover '' Thilo- 
 Jlratus relates, that ApoUonmSy in order to 
 diffuade the Athenians from taking delight 
 in the Combats of wicked Fellows, bought 
 with Money, having been called to a Coun- 
 cil held in the Theatre, told them plainly, 
 that he had a Reluftancy to enter into a 
 Place polluted with Blood, and wondefd, 
 that Dallas did not abandon the higher Part 
 of the City, where the Theatre flood; or 
 that Bacchus fliould come any more into the 
 Theatre to receive Libations, w^hile it was 
 contaminated with Murders. There is alio 
 a very fine Paflage in ' * T^ion ChryfoftomuSy 
 where exclaiming againft the Athenians y for 
 the Delight they took in Gladiators, fays, 
 that in this they were worfe than the Co- 
 rinthianSj the latter only exhibiting their 
 Combats in an ugly pitiful Valley ; whereas 
 the Athenians did it in lb noble a Place, as 
 that of the Theatre. Thus does he decide 
 the Matter for C{?r/;2^^ ; and by this 'tis plain, 
 that neither in that City nor Athens^ was 
 there any Amphitheatre : nor indeed, becaule 
 occafionally we find mention of thofe kinds 
 of Games in Greece, mull we therefore de- 
 duce their Origin from thence, as Lipjius 
 and others have done. 
 
 Since therefore vdihcx Athens nor Co- 
 rinth had any ATijphitheatre, we may fafe- 
 ly conclude, that the leflcr Cities, and thofe 
 
 " In Vit. A^oll. /.4. ^ Orat. 31. 
 
 lefs
 
 So 0/ AmPHIT H-J: ATRES, 
 
 lefs iaddifted to thofe Games, were far from 
 having them. But this fome may objecl a- 
 gainft, becaufe of the Remains of two Am- 
 phitheatres faid to be in Sicily ^ one at Ca- 
 tanea, the other ?ii Syr acufe-^ allowing this, 
 it is however certain, that Sicily ^ after the 
 Time of the Roman Republick, I mean 
 while the Greek Emperors were in being, 
 became like Italy, both with regard to its 
 Language and Cuftoms. For my part, 1 Ihall 
 be fo fair as not to conceal one Reafon which 
 inclines me to believe, that there were Am- 
 phitheatres in the Ifland of Candta-^ and 
 this I have from a mofi: valuable Manulcript^ 
 fliewn me by ^P. Carlo Lodoli, a minot 
 Friar, who, for the better fucceeding in the 
 important Undertaking he has in hand, is 
 no lefs furnifhed with proper Talents, than 
 rare and learned Materials. In this Manu- 
 fcript, is an Account of a large Theatre in 
 Candia, delineated by Oriorio Belli of Vi- 
 centia^ who went thither in the Year 1583, 
 Phyfieian to the Proveditor-General, and re- 
 maln'd there in that Character with great Cre- 
 dit'. This ¥7ork is v/rote with Erudition 
 and Judgment ; nor have v;e any thing in 
 Print at all to be compared with it in value. 
 In the firftBook, where he treats about An- 
 tiquities, he refers to Infcriptions, dilcover- 
 ing at the fame Time an admirable Skill 
 in Architecture, and in giving Plans of all 
 fuch ancient Edifices as are not known to 
 
 the
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 8r 
 
 the Publick ; fome of which were upon a 
 certain Occafion, which then intervened, de- 
 ftroyed. Of thefe are feven Theatres, of 
 w^hich he found great Remains among the 
 Ruins of feveral Cities; he likewife men- 
 tions feven Amphitheatres, of which he feem'd 
 to find Yeftiges alfo, efpecially two, one at 
 Gortinay the other at Gerapitna. He gives 
 the Form, and reprefents the Drawing of 
 them, in a way commonly pra^tifed ; name- 
 ly, as if he had found them entire and per-* 
 fed. As to this I fliall fay nothing, only 
 that in a little time we fliall fliew how very 
 eafy it is in defcribing the Remains of anti- 
 ent Edifices, to make ufe of one Word for 
 another; more efpecially fince Theatres, Am- 
 phitheatres, Circus's^ and other publick en- 
 clofed Places, are for the moft part uniform 
 and like one another: and the rather, fince 
 Theatres were made with one entire Circumfe- 
 rence, which we fliall mention when we 
 come to treat about that of Tola, The Am- 
 phitheatre of Gortina he reprefents, as is 
 iifual, by a Plan entirely like that of the Co- 
 lojfeum of Rome^ and by a double Portico, 
 and in the four Diametrical Ways, tho' all 
 the Arches were, as he fays, but Fifty ^\x. 
 He adds, that the Fabrick was of Brick^ 
 without any Ornament of Architecture; which 
 Particular can fcarcely be believed of an Am- 
 phitheatre, efpecially in a Country where 
 the publick Edifices were of Stone, and or- 
 
 G namented
 
 8z 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 namented too. He adds, that this Struclure 
 was join'd to the Forum of the City, where- 
 as the Amphitheatres were always without 
 the Walls. The other, he fays, was at G^- 
 r ape tray called at hrRGeraptnay as he learned 
 from the Stones with Infcriptions found there, 
 and which confirms the Opinion of thole 
 who have believed that Ttokm/s Gerapetra^ 
 was the fame with the Gerapitna of Strabo 
 and Tliny. Our Author affirms, that the 
 Amphitheatre was dug between two little 
 Hills or Rocks; and in order to compleat 
 the Oval, on the Points they had made fix 
 ButtreiTes of iblid Mafonry, without Orna- 
 ment, between which w^ere the Stairs. What 
 may be believed from all this, I know not, 
 nor for what Parpofe fuch a Building was 
 defigned j and yet io great a Deference I 
 Ihall pay to the Judgment of this learned 
 Man, as to grant, that it might not be im- 
 poffible, but a kind of Amphitheatre might 
 have been erefted even in a Greek City, in 
 order to gratify Ibme Roman Governour or 
 another, tho' I own it was contrary to the 
 Grecian Ufage. Nor indeed does it make 
 againft my general AiTeriion, nor the proper 
 and common Cuftom of the Grecians. But 
 Belli found greater Remains of magnificent 
 Buildings among the Ruins of this City, 
 than in any other Place ♦ and refers to an 
 antient League orConcracl of Amity or Friend- 
 ftiip, between this and another City now un- 
 known,
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 8^ 
 
 known, and which was found on a Stone j 
 but here is not the Place to mention any- 
 thing more concerning this Particular. 
 
 I remember alfo another Infcription, to 
 which the celebrated Father ' ^ Montfaucon 
 refers in the T>iarium Italicum, and which 
 he faw at Venice:, where is read ENIEPA- 
 nrrNH ; he tranflates it in Sacra Tugna^ 
 for which, he elleems that the faid Monument 
 contains in it fomething very curious, and, by 
 laying a ftrefs upon luch an Interpretation 
 for a Truth, he explains the whole falfely : 
 It being evident, that in it there is not any 
 mention made of a Tugna, either facred or 
 profane. The Word is read EMEPAnrXNH, 
 by which is underftood, that in the City of 
 Gerapitnay and by the Senate there, fuch a 
 Decree was made. 
 
 A much greater Number than could be 
 well imagined, of fuch Remarks, are to be 
 feen in my Arte Critic a Lapidaria\ which 
 I Icarcely remember at prefent, nor do I 
 know what will be its Fortune. 
 
 n Vag. 74. 
 
 G 2 CHAP.
 
 §4 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S^ 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Search is made in the other Eajiern 
 Parts. 
 
 SINCE, generally fpeaking, Greece had 
 no Amphitheatre, no more had Afia : 
 As for Aqueduds, Temples, Theatres, and 
 other antique Buildings, feveral Veftiges and 
 Ruins are to be feen in thofe Countries, but 
 none of Amphitheatres. The Temple of 
 Epbefus and many other Buildings, are often 
 mentioned by Writers ^ and AriftideSy in the 
 ' Oration directed to the People there, makes 
 mention of the Walls, the Theatre, and the 
 Porticoes of that City, as things which they 
 greatly valued. With regard to the Stadia 
 and Circi in thofe Parts, an Account is given 
 of them in a great number of Places, but 
 no where of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Any City of Afia^ which might ever have 
 had fuch Buildings, would not have neglecled 
 to advance it as an Argument of Preference, 
 efpecially at the Time they were fetting 
 forth the Nature of their refpedive Prero- 
 gatives, in the Conteft they had one with 
 another for ereding the * Tem.ple to Tiberius-^ 
 and the rather, fince an Amphitheatre would 
 have drawn together a Concourfe of People 
 
 * OyM. 31. * Tac. Aawl, lib. A;. 
 
 I from
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. ^$ 
 
 from other Cities, and there, would have been 
 the Place of exhibiting their moft fumptuous 
 public Shews, which they often performed in 
 common, andabout which they had frequent 
 Difputes. At this, Arijtides^ in the fame 
 Oration, hints 5 and the Author who ^ lately 
 wrote on this Subjed, has not taken notice 
 of this Particular : who fays, that the Title 
 of Neocore indicates, that that City had Am- 
 phitheatres^ wherein Games were exhibited 
 in the name of the whole Province i and 
 {6 we argue of the Cities which afpired to 
 the Power of governing the others. Among 
 the Buildings ruin'd by the Earthquake in 
 Nkomedidy ^ Libanhis mentions the ftately 
 Theatre and Circus^ which, he faid, were 
 more folid than the Walls of Babylon. 
 ^ Tliny the Younger, fpeaks of its Aquedufi^ 
 and likewile of the Theatre of Nice a 5 but 
 none of them mention any thing about an 
 Amphitheatre : but as to what the Author fays 
 about one at Carthage, or in Alexandria, in 
 Antioch or Conftantinople^ I am inclined to 
 believe, that there was no fixed Amphi- 
 theatre at neither of thofe Places. ^ Alipius^ 
 St. Attguftines Friend [while he remain'd at 
 Carthage, where cruel Diverfions were not 
 ufed, but thofe which were vain and entire- 
 ly fuited to Pleafure] was debauched with 
 
 3 Scien.des Med. c. f. 4 Or at. 6. ^ Li^. lo. ^ ^f^g- 
 Conf. L.6. c. 7. Cathnginenfiumy quibits Nugntoria fervent 
 SPeciacula, 
 
 G 3 the
 
 8(5 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 the Delight he had in the Circenfian Games, 
 and at Rome alone ravifhed with the Gladi- 
 atory Combats. 
 
 * Salvianus does not reprove the Cartha- 
 ginian Chriftians for ufing any other Kinds 
 of publick Shews, but only for tkeir flock- 
 ing to the Circus's, and being hixunoufly 
 fond of the Theatres i yet in the Ads of 
 St. Verpettia^ and her Companions, who 
 were expofed to the wild Beaits, fome be- 
 lieve at Ttiburbinmy others in Carthage^ the 
 Name of Amphitheatre was given to the 
 Circus. Towards the End of thofe Ads we 
 find, that the Martyrs were given up a 
 Prey to the Beaiis upon a Stage, a thing 
 not ufual in Amphitheatres, but in other en- 
 clofed Places, fince the Piazzas were not io 
 conveniently expofed to the entire View of 
 all the Spectators. St. Ignatius was fen- 
 tenced by Trajan to be devoured by Beafis 
 in Antioch : But at the lame time we find 
 in thefe Ads, that he v/as commanded to be 
 carried to Rome. In thole Places they ibme- 
 times were plealed with Gladiatory Sports, 
 for which reafon, Confranttne proclaimed a 
 Law in Berytiis, abolifliing that Cuftomj 
 and Libanius Ipeaks of fuch Games in An- 
 tioch : yet becaufe of this v/e muft not in- 
 fer that there were Amphitheatres there, 
 efpecially fince they likewiie celebrated thofe 
 Shews in the Stadia, and within the Pali- 
 fado's. 'Tis known what a great City Thef- 
 
 * Lib. 6. falonica
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 87 
 
 falonica was, and in the Ads of St. T)eme- 
 trius^ wrote by Anafiafius the BMiothe- 
 carian, and regiftrated by "^ MabiUon^ in 
 his Analeds 5 we learn,' that there the Em- 
 peror Maximilian delighted in Gladiatory 
 Combats, but that they were fhewn in the 
 Stadium of that City. 
 
 Nay, we read in the fame Acts, how 
 fuch Games were performed within a kind 
 of Circle, namely, an Enclofure of Boards. 
 This is fufiicient to make us underftand how 
 the Want of an Amphitheatre was fupply'd 
 in the EaJL Yet that there w^as no fuch 
 Strufture at Antioch^ is clear from Liba- 
 nius i who, in relating the remarkable things 
 of his own Country, in feveral Orations, he 
 names the Theatre and Circus, but never an 
 Amphitheatre ; and in his Panegyrick, fays, 
 that befides the Great Theatre, there were 
 in the Middle of the City, Theatres of ano- 
 ther Form, fome for the At h let a j others 
 for the Wild-Beafts : Where he confirms, 
 that they exhibited the Games of the Beafts 
 out of the Theatres, and in different and 
 leffer kinds of Buildings. The Truth of this 
 appears the more evident, where St. John 
 ^ Chryfoflomtis fays, that the Antiochiayis 
 had left off all kinds of Shews, wherein o- 
 
 ■^ lllic etenim par abater per qusifdain TabuUs cir cuius cir- 
 cumfeptus. 
 
 ^ Horn. \ J. Th If/ysf-r^ 'hp^^dLy -^ iTw.S'piJ.'Q- aI^^t^^ 
 
 G 4. therwiie
 
 88 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 thervvile they had loft themfelves, he expreffes 
 it thus ; 27?^ Circus is abandoned^ and the 
 Orchejire ^out up. So ^ Ammianus Marc^l^ 
 limis fays, that Conjiantius Gallus living 
 in that City, and delighting in bloody Games, 
 notwithftanding they had been often forbid, 
 exhibited however fix or feven of fdch Shews, 
 and thofe either of Gladiators or Boxers, arm'd 
 with a Ceftas, and always in the Circus. At 
 ConilantinGple^ a City which became a fe- 
 cond Rome^ 'tis highly probable that the Ufe of 
 the Amphitheatre would never have been left 
 off, had they ever had any. The Founder 
 of this laft mentioned City, 'tis true, built a 
 famous Hippodromus or Circus ; this Eufe- 
 biiis^ SozomeUy Zonaras^ and many others 
 mention : Nor would they have been filent 
 about the Amphitheatre, if in like manner 
 fuch a Building had been erected by him. 
 In a Law of the Theodofian Code^ and in that 
 little Book of the Divifions or Diftrids of 
 Conftantinople^ publifh'd hyT anc iro litis ^mcn- 
 tion is made of an Amphitheatre, fituatednot 
 very far from the ^= Tortus Julianus : But 
 'tis certain, by that wx muft underftand fome 
 Circuit or enclofed Place, galled Ilo by the 
 Latins^ becaufe of the Likenels it had to 
 an Amphitheatre, and which they made ufe 
 of for ihewing the Beafts • fince a great part 
 
 5 L. 14. c. 7. LuditHs cruentus in Circo fex vel feptem ali- 
 i^Hoties vetitls certaminihus, ^c. 
 }^ C. Th. L -bet. de calc. coji. 
 
 of
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. Sp 
 
 of the Circus was preferv'd, even to the laft 
 Times of the Grecian Empire, tho' no Re- 
 mains whatfoever of an Amphitheatre have 
 ever been found there ; nor is there any 
 Grecian Monument that mentions it, nor one 
 Word about it in all the Byzantine Hiftorians, 
 nor in the anonymous Writer who ilourifli'd in 
 the Time of Conjlantinus 'Dux^ as may be 
 feen in the Treat ife of the oriental Empire of 
 ^. Banduri^ who has wrote feveral Books 
 on the Antiquities oiConJiantinople^ and given 
 us a minute Account of the Buildings there. 
 Yet we muft not forget, that in the Chronica 
 oi MarceUinus mention is made, that in the 
 firft Confulate of Jaftinian^ there was a fa- 
 mous Shew exhibited of Wild-Beafts in the 
 Amphitheatre ; but he made ufeof that Word 
 in the fame manner as the others had done, 
 nor do I know what credit ought to be given 
 to the Fad itfelf, becaufe Trocopius, in his 
 Secret Hiftory, fpeaks of the Prohibition of 
 the ancient publick Games made by Jufti- 
 ntan, and regrets, that ^^ the Theatres^ the 
 Circi and the Hnnting-T laces lay for a long 
 time wafte and difufed -, and fuppofes the 
 forefaid Prohibition to be the Effed of that 
 Emperor's Avarice. 
 
 What we are now come to, is to make a 
 particular Enquiry into this Affair at Alex- 
 andria^ as having been above all other Cities 
 the moft addicted to fuch kinds of Diverfions 
 
 and
 
 90 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 and Shews- in this we Ihall examine what the 
 moft famous Writers have mentioned on that 
 head. In the printed Books of Tlin^:, where 
 he treats about \hz Egypt ianTapyrus^ made 
 ufe of for writing, we read, that one kind 
 of it was called Amphitheatrical, from the 
 Place where it '"^ was made. 
 
 GttilandimtSy who wrote aTreatife about* 
 Paper, finding in the Context, that the Am- 
 phitheatre could not ftand well there, was 
 of Opinion, that inftead of Amphitheatrica 
 it ought to be read Atrtbittca, from the chief 
 City of a Province in Egypt, He fhews Tliny^ 
 for the fame reafon, named two kinds of 
 the Paper of that country, by the Word Sai- 
 tica\ and according to another Amendment 
 of the fame Giiilhndiniis^ Tanitka^ and not 
 T£nwtica, as it is printed. ^ ^ Jofeph Scaliger 
 laugh'd at that fine Emendation, deriding 
 Guilandinusy becaufe he would not allow of 
 an Amphitheatre to have been at Alexan- 
 dridj a City, he faid, fo full of Pleafures. 
 VoJJliis followed Scaliger in this, and Harduin 
 them both, as I have already taken notice in 
 my fecond Book of the Hifiona T)iplomatica, 
 But firfl: 'tistobeobierv'd, that Tliny makes 
 no mention of Alexandria in that place, nor 
 gives the ieafi: Hint about it, fo without any 
 Reafon it came into the mind of thofe worthy 
 
 ^* Lib, \'^. c. 11. a confeciurA loco. 
 
 ^5 In G^ufc. imlt Aw^hhheatrum no)i fuiffe Alexandria, ^c. 
 
 Men^
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 91 
 
 Men, That the City where the Paper was 
 made, named Amphitheatrica, was nothing 
 but Alexandria-^ and that Gtiilandinus^ by 
 his Emendation, has done little lels than 
 deny'd that there were ever any Amphi- 
 theatres in Alexandria^ which indeed he ne- 
 ver thought of. Bat nctvvithftanding al] this, 
 the Reader may reft fatisfy'd, that what 
 Guilandinus has laid is a Truth, and neither 
 ridiculous nor extravagant, as thofe Authors 
 [by the common Prejudice they have that 
 Amphitheatres were in every City] believed. 
 Befides, when 'Plmy wrote, there were no 
 Examples to be found of Structures like that 
 of Titus. Nor is it therefore credible, that 
 a durable Amphitheatre was iubfifting in any 
 other Place. That none was anterior to it, 
 appears iiomT hilo^ '»'' where he iays, that the 
 Pr^fe6t Flaccus caufed the Jews to be tor- 
 mented in the Theatre, before the Mufick 
 and the Scenic GaPxies began; which, had 
 there been any, would more probably have 
 been in the Amphitheatre, amidft the cruel 
 Shews there. But that there were none at 
 that time, nor afterwards, we are very cer- 
 tain, from w^hat Ammianus Marcellinus re- 
 lates, who, in his elaborate Encomium on 
 that City, mentions the Tower and the Ram- 
 part in the Sea, and the Temples there, a- 
 mong which w^as that of Serapis^ but no 
 Amphitheatre, Nay, that there was no fuch 
 
 * Wd. in fUcc. 
 
 Build-
 
 91 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Building in Alexandridy nor the Cuftom of 
 fuch Shews for which Amphitheatres were 
 intended, is undoubtedly made apparent by 
 an Oration of '^ T>ton Chryfojlomus^ by 
 which he endeavoured to alienate the Alex- 
 andrians from the exceflive Paflion they had 
 for Shews. There he continually accufes 
 them for the vain Pleafure they took in 
 Theatres, and in the Stadhim ; and for their 
 Delight in Horfes, Charioteers, Singers, Fid- 
 lers. Dancers and Wreftlers. But of Am- 
 phitheatres, wild Beafts, and Gladiators, he 
 makes not the leaft mention. 
 
 I remember a Stone [referred to by Ap- 
 plan in his Colleftions, and from him by 
 Gniter *] which would incline one to think, 
 that there was a School for Gladiators in 
 Alexandria ; the Infcription is this : pro- 
 curator Ludi Familia Gladiatorum Cafaris 
 Alexandria ad <iyEgyptu7n. 
 
 But with regard to Infcriptions, I own, 
 that tho' they are the moft precious and 
 pure Fountain of any, when fafely made ufe 
 of; yet it muft be Vvith great Caution, 
 until a general Examination be eftablifhed 
 for diftinguifhing the falfe from the genuine. 
 And indeed, fome time or other, with Di- 
 vine Permiffion, we intend to fhew evidently 
 that the forelaid Stone is falfe, either in the 
 whole, or in that part. M^rc Anthony y 'tis 
 true, carried Gladiators into thole Countries 
 
 14 Grat. 52. * 376. 3. 
 
 by
 
 (y Amphitheatre Se 93 
 
 by way of Soldiers ; in like manner, Otho 
 armed 2000 againft Vttellius : All which 
 I fliall confirm, by fubjoining here, that 
 the foremention'd Orator, in order to con- 
 vince the y^/^;v<^^^r/^;^j";, how ridiculous they 
 made ihemfelves, and in what manner they 
 were undone, by running after Shews, and 
 the like ; recites 3 6 Verfes^ made by I know 
 not what Poet, in derifion of them. Which 
 Poem is moft remarkable, as being a Piece 
 of Grecian Satire, and among the Monu- 
 ments of that Nation, Angular in its kind : 
 a Particular which never as yet has been 
 adverted to. I fhall give the Tranflation 
 as near to the Original as is poffible^ having 
 only mended it a little here and there, in 
 order to cover fome fmall Imperfeftions in 
 the Original; the Author of which has un- 
 dertaken, for the moft part, to throw it 
 into Verfe, or to imitate the Homeric Strain. 
 In Englijh Profe it is to this Purpofe. 
 
 The Charioteers fometimes bowed to the 
 Ground y then erected themfehes on high--, 
 the Spectators Jiood not Jiill, but left their 
 SeatSy and being yellow with Fear^ and 
 anxious for theTalm of ViBory^ they en- 
 couraged each other : Then lifting up their 
 Hands to all the Gods, they prayed, making 
 a Clamour like that of Rooks and Cranes, 
 But after they had drank powerful Wine 
 and Beer, then flew they clattering through 
 
 the
 
 94 (y Amphitheatres. 
 
 the CircQs, and like a ClGud of T)aws, or 
 rather Starlings^ chattering from high j fo 
 they perceiving the Coiirfers coming upon 
 them (j-J^hich thing to Fools brings "Death) 
 fell over one another , ivith a fhrieking 
 Noife i htit like as the Wind carries Chaff 
 through the Air, and Fire roars through 
 the deep Valley Sy fo they^ like Flames, grevi' 
 furious. Then might yon fay that the Sun 
 and Moon were in danger^ for Men are like 
 the Leaves of Trees^ thofe nimble Men 
 who are enamoured with Songs and Chariots, 
 the loud notfe of both which reached up to 
 Heaven. One there was, who feeing his 
 neighbour drunk, f aid, Do^sKj^s and'H.md's 
 Hccixt what do yon fear ? and why do you 
 lock on the Field behind the Chariot ? 
 Come roufe your f elf, make one effort that 
 we may fee you flung flat on the Ground. 
 But thus did Hippoccontes reph^ Friend, 
 pray fit ft ill and be quiet, take my Advice, 
 fince you are a defencelefs Alinifier^ and 
 have lazy Horfes. In truth, fo fpoke a 
 ^ white-footed Horfe, under the Toke, and 
 faid, do7it you fee that 1 am large and fair, 
 yet 'Death and powerful Tjeffinr hang over 
 me? I wip) the great Goddejs Juno had 
 furnift?ed every one of you here with Hoofs, 
 fo that one fitting on one fide^ the other on 
 the other ^ might 7iot prate any more. Thus 
 did he fpeak^ but thofe of Jupiter, the Son 
 <?/ Saturn, timid about and p-ayed^ 6Cc. 
 
 Ho-
 
 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 95 
 
 Horace, ^lintilian^ and \DwmedeS after 
 them, laid, the LuciUan Satire was entirely 
 Latin^ and not made by a Grecian ; yet by 
 thefe VerJes it feems, the Truth of that Af- 
 iertion may be called in queftion, and the 
 rather, fince it appears not to have been an 
 unufual Compofition ; for being produced 
 by the Orator, he fays, ^ Thus has one of 
 thofe foul'jnoutJod 'Poets -^rote : which 
 makes it evident, that fuch kind of Poetry 
 was in ufe ; and by calling them foui-mouth'd, 
 denotes the Charafter of the Satiriits. We 
 may add, chat the Sylli of Timon^ as Ca- 
 faubon has well remarked, in his Treatife 
 of Satiric Poetry, appears to have been no- 
 thing elfe. This Knot may, I think, be 
 well icofed, by obferving, that the- afore laid 
 Veries is a Chain of Homeric Parody, and 
 like thofe oiTnnov, as Laertius fully fhews ; 
 and which do evince, that he iikewife had 
 the fame kind of ^"erfiiication, and that the 
 Grecians, being for the moft part entirely 
 wedded to the Hoineric Style, where, in 
 their Compofitions they affeded a kind of 
 Medley or Cento, in that way have been 
 therefore little regarded; and indeed the 
 truth is, they feem by no means equal to 
 the Satires of the Latins. 
 
 But to return to theSabjed in hand: From 
 this Satire Iikewife appears, that the Games 
 at Alexandria confifted in Singing and Cha- 
 
 Tt; 7w £^Tf^;' 7V'jT&.^v 7:tirr^;\ 
 
 riots,
 
 96 0/* Amphitheatres. 
 
 riots, and not in Amphitheatrical Entertain- 
 ments. ThilOy who was an Alexandriarij 
 relating, that in the Beginning of CaUgulds 
 Reign, every City feafted, and were em- 
 ployed about Games, calls them Theatrical 
 and Ctrcenfiany but not Amphitheatrical In 
 line, all the Paffages we meet with in the 
 Greek Fathers, where they reprove the 
 Oriental People on account of their Shews, 
 fpeak nothing but either of Theatre or D>- 
 ctiSy or thofe Buildings into which Beafts were 
 brought, which they called '^ Hunting- 
 Places; but never mention Amphitheatres, 
 as may be particularly remarked in many 
 Paffages mChryfoftomy and in the 27/^^ Ho- 
 mily oiNazianzentis, and the firft Catechifm 
 oi Si. Cyril : likewiie in the '^ Canons of. 
 the Synod called ^tinifeftus^ the Hunting- 
 Shews were prohibited. Siiidas^ about the 
 word Amphitheatre, cites none but Agazias, 
 who mentions one in Italy. And in the 
 Word Cynegium^ he Ipoke of the Hunting- 
 place 2it ConJiantinoj)le\ nor does he io much 
 as hint that it v/as an Amphitheatre. So 
 alfo in the Laws, they ufed to divide the 
 Shews into Theatrical and Circenfian s and 
 when they happened to mention that of 
 the wild Beafts, they did not term them Am- 
 phitheatrical, but ' "^ Theatrical Games j and 
 Circenfian Conteftsy and Courfing of wild 
 Beafts^ or rather the deplorable Shews of 
 
 15 Tct Kur'n^gJi.'i. ^^ Cm. jz. ^J^ C.Th. deSpec}. Lib. 2. 
 Jnfl. de Ferih, lib, 10. """ wild
 
 0/^ A M P H I T ft E A T R E S. 9*7 
 ivild Beafts, like what was mentioned in 
 that of Theodojius^ direded to the Prsefed 
 of the Tratorium of the Eaft : And likewife 
 thofe oiLeOy by which all manner of Shews 
 on Sunday were prohibited. Eufebius, who 
 in his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory mentions lb 
 many Martyrdoms, particularly thofe by the 
 wild Beafts, and by way of Shew, which 
 happened in the many great Towns of the 
 Eaftern Provinces j in the Greek Original of 
 that Author, we have no mention of any 
 Amphitheatre, tho' he Ipeaks of them twice, 
 in another Place, where he treats of the 
 Martyrdom oi^^Si/Photinus at Lyons. In like 
 manner JofephusvS^^ the Word Amphitheatre 
 four times in Greeks fpeaking of thofe of 
 Wood erefted by Herod in Judea, 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 7^ at few Amphitheatres of Ketone', were 
 either in theWefl or in Italy itfelf 
 
 LE T us now go to the TVeft, the Pro- 
 vinces of which were much more in- 
 clined to that Italic kind of Shews, than they 
 for whofe ufe Amphitheatres were originally 
 defign'd. Among the infinite number of 
 Cities, there are but few found which can 
 make it appear on good Grounds, that they 
 
 H had
 
 98 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 had Amphitheatres • and all thefe are either 
 in Gaul or Sfain. The A^s of St. Frut- 
 ttiofo and his Companions, make particu- 
 lar mention of an Amphitheatre in Tarra- 
 gona, Some likewife imagine, that Re- 
 mains of fuch Strudures have been near 
 Seville, and that now others are to be feen 
 in Italic a, which I fliall not pretend to de- 
 termine. VVc have already found by art 
 Epiftle of Tollio, that there were Shews of 
 Gladiators and Wild-Beafts in Seville 5 but 
 the Age anterior to Cafars Adminiftration 
 lufficiently evinces that they did not then 
 make ufe of them in the Amphitheatres. 
 That there are the Remains of an Amphi- 
 theatre at Kimes in France^ has always been 
 believ'd ; nay, Lipfins and BnlltJiger fpeafc 
 alfb, tho' but ambiguoufly, of another at 
 Toitou, But a more accurate Oblervation 
 thereof is, I think, ftill neceffary. 
 
 There are others, not a few, aflerted to 
 be remaining elie where, and this on account 
 of the Ruins extant ; but with what Certainty, 
 I leave to thofe who, with a skilful Eye, 
 may have examined them upon the Ipot : 
 fince People conclude that Amphitheatres 
 have been in feveral places, for no other 
 realbn but the oval Form, which they think 
 they fee in their Ruins. We have formerly 
 hinted, that in the Epiftle directed to the 
 Cities of Lyons and Vtenne, and preferved 
 by Etifebius in his Ecckfiaftical Hiftory, 
 
 mention
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 99 
 
 mention is made of an Amphitheatre at 
 the firft of thefe Cities: Befides, the Writers 
 and Monuments of latter times, I mean po- 
 fterior to the year One thoufand one hun^ 
 dred, cited by 'Du Cange in his Glo(fary, 
 name the Arena in Marfeilles^ Bourges^ 
 Terigord, in Rheims^ and in Taris : But 
 in the latter Ages, they neither knew what 
 an Amphitheatre was, nor did they ufe fuch 
 names in their true and ancient Signification. 
 In Treves y a City made a Colony by Au- 
 guftusy and called by Tompnius Mela^ the 
 moft Opulent, where feveral Emperors re- 
 fided, we have a ftrong reafon to believe, 
 that they had an Amphitheatre there, fince 
 Aimonius mentions the Arena at that place, 
 ' faying, that on certain Occafions they made 
 a Defence, by placing a Garifon in the Arense 
 there, Neverthelels, I find in * Salvianus^ 
 that thofe People defired no other Games, 
 but what were Theatrical and Circenfian : 
 And I perceive - Eumenius celebrates the 
 Circus of that City, which he calls a Rival 
 to that of Rome ; as he does likewife the 
 Bajilica & Forum, Structures which were, 
 fays he, reared up to the Stars ; but in all 
 this mentions not any thing about an Am- 
 phitheatre. In like manner Conftans^ while 
 he wintered in Arles^ celebrated fumptuous 
 
 ^ Lib. 6. Theatra qnarins, drcHmpoJiuIatij. 
 » In Faneg. Con/lam, 
 
 H 2 Shews
 
 lOO 0/ AmPHITHE A.TRESj* 
 
 Shews there, but they vvere all Theatrical 
 and Circenfian, as ^ Ammiarms Marcellinus 
 plainly evinces. The Circenfian Games lafted . 
 eyed to the time of Jujtiniany as appears 
 from ^ Trocopms, Sidonhis Apollinaris 
 makes an Encomium on Narbona^ and ex- 
 tols it greatly for its Edifices, enumerating^ 
 them, one by one; namely, the Theatre^ 
 Fmm, the Gates, "Porticos, Capitols , Minty 
 Hot-Baths ^Arches fir anaries and Shambles. 
 Can we think then, that amidft fo many he 
 ihould forget Amphitheatres ? But let us 
 proceed to If^^: The Amphitheatres of ^ 
 Stone were not lb many there as is commonly 
 believed. Vitruvius gives us , to underlland, 
 that the Temples of Hercules in thofe Cities 
 which had neither Gymnafium nor Amphi- 
 theatres, vv^ere built near the C/m/^' i fo that 
 we find the Circi were every where, but 
 no Amphitheatres, not io much as of Wood, 
 rriade at that time : And if we look for an , 
 undeniable Proof of this from Ruins, I am of 
 Opinion, that we ftiall not probably find a 
 certain Evidence of any fix'd Amphitheatre 
 out of Verona^ except that of Capua. As 
 to thofe of Sicily and "Tola, we ftiall defer 
 fpeaking of them at prefent. The other 
 Remains of Amphitheatres given out to be 
 in Albano at the GarriglianOy Tozzttoloy 
 Orticoli^ Spello^ and many other places, 
 are, for the moft part, either Pieces of an- 
 
 4 I. 14. c.^, 5 BdL Goth. /. 3. r. 43. 
 
 cient
 
 (^Amphitheatres, ioi 
 
 cient Brick- Walls, or the Remains of fome 
 cnclofed Places ; whence 'tisvifionary or un- 
 certain to aflert, that fuch were the Ruins of 
 Amphitheatres: and the rather, fince Ibme 
 of them are in the fide of fmall Rocks, which 
 was an Artifice in making Theatres at a 
 iitialler Charge, by working out the Audi- 
 tory in the Declivity, and placing the Scene 
 in the Plain j not an Amphitheatre, which 
 required the Steps or Seats to be made cir- 
 cularly all around it. The ancient Com- 
 mentator of Juvenal^ Ipeaking of the Arena 
 Albana [in which that young Man, the Con- 
 ful's Son, flain afterwards by Neroy who 
 like a Bejiiarius, bravely fcilFd the African 
 Wild-Bealb] lays, it was a ^ Luforium of the 
 Emperor i namely, a private and peculiar 
 Enclofure appropriated for the like Ufes, as 
 Jhall be fliewn in its proper place. 
 
 Ambrogio Leone^ who wrote about the 
 beginning of the fixteenth Age, imagined he 
 law the Remains of two Amphitheatres at 
 Nola^ which indeed would, if true, have 
 been no finall Wonder: but he adds, that 
 within them they recited Fables. ISay, 
 "^ Julius Scaliger was liberal enough to give 
 no lefs than two Amphitheatres to Verona 
 alfo : But I fliall not make further Enquiry 
 about what is afferted in Italy^ that being 
 too tedious a Task. However I mufl: fay, 
 
 ^ Ad SM.df, in luforio CAfarist ^c 
 ^ DeCom. 6* ^r. cap. 17. 
 
 H 3 ^^^
 
 101 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 that if a narrow View be taken of our own 
 Venice^ the Territory of which has at aU 
 times been not a little diftinguifti'd, rich, 
 and well peopled ; in the Extremity thereof 
 was the great City of Jquileia^ and yet for 
 all this, we do not find the leaft remem- 
 brance of an Amphitheatre there; nor could 
 I, by diligent fearch, difcover the leaft Ap- 
 pearance of any. 
 
 ^ Jornandes^ who flourifh*d about a hun- 
 dred years after the Incurfion of AtttUy 
 affirms, that fcarcely any Remains of Aqui- 
 leia were exifting in his time ; but I am 
 certain in this he exaggerated: but fuch a 
 Pile as our Arena could not be annihilated 
 in lb ftiort a time. One may reply to this, 
 that the Grandeur of Aquileia was chiefly 
 in the latter Ages, and yet fuch Edifices the 
 Work of former Times. But what fliall we 
 fay to TadnUy which flourifhed fo very much 
 in the higher Ages, that few Cities could be 
 compar'd to it for Grandeur, as may be ga- 
 thered from Straho ? And yet I greatly 
 doubt, if it had any fix'd Amphitheatre, 
 fince no Remains of fuch a Building have 
 ever been difcovered there, and Scardeo 
 mentions not one word concerning it. 'Tis 
 true, Ttgnorius has treated largely about an 
 Amphitheatre at Tadua, and given the Plan 
 and four Draughts in Perlpedive thereof: 
 But that which appear'd to him to be an 
 
 3 AmphI--
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 103 
 
 Amphitheatre, was only an oval Court, 
 placed before a fine Palace, near the Church 
 of the Auguftinc Fryars, with the Remains 
 of a Wall round it; which, becaufe of the 
 great number of Gates, and its Figure, was 
 caird Arena : the Building appearing to have 
 been ereded only four or five Ages ago; 
 nor had it ever any Portico joined to it, nor 
 Stairs or Steps. We may obferve in the Afts 
 of the Saints Fermo and Ruftico^ publilh'd 
 lately by me, by way of Appendix to my 
 Hiftory of T>iplomas, that thofe two Chri- 
 ftian Heroes were, by Maximines Order, 
 given up to Anoltnus^ who, as he was in- 
 vefted with the Authority of fupreme Ma- 
 giftrate, and at that time on his Departure 
 from Milarij to both the Vertices-, had ex- 
 prefs Injundions givxn him, that they ftiould 
 either renounce their Religion or lofe their 
 Lives : Anolinus therefore, in order to ex- 
 pole the Saints by way of publick Shew, 
 and thereby to be more able to gratify the 
 People, immediately commanded them to be 
 fent to Verona, where, in the Amphitheatre 
 they were tore to pieces. From this it plainly 
 appears, that no fuch Building was then at 
 Bergamo or Brefcia, through which Cities 
 the Saints were to pafs; nor indeed in A qm^ 
 leia^ one of the largeft and moft frequented 
 Cities of any in that Province. For had Am- 
 phitheatres, I fay, been in any of thefe three 
 Towns, Anolinus would furely have ordered 
 H 4 thefe
 
 104 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 thele Saints to have been executed in one 
 of them. 
 
 But not to fpeak any more of our Pro- 
 vince, I am of opinion, that 'tis pretty dif- 
 ficult to determine, if any Amphitheatre had 
 been even at MilaUy notwithilanding it was 
 a City very lUuftrious, both for its Bulk and 
 many high Titles. On one hand, we find 
 in the ancient Life of St. Ambrofe, an Am- 
 phitheatre mentioned to have been there; 
 but on the other, Attfonius does not fay any 
 thing of it in his Elogmm on that City. 
 And yet that Panegyric is diftinguifli'd from 
 any of the others, becaufe of the particular 
 mention it makes of the Buildings there, 
 Jliling Milan the Rival of Rome^ where its 
 Circus and Theatre are fpoke of before any 
 other thing: there he names the Temples, 
 Mint, Palaces, Tribune or Pantheons adorn'd 
 with Statues, and the ftrong Walls of that 
 City. Can any one then imagine, that if 
 llich a Building as an Amphitheatre had 
 ever been there, he would have forgot it ? 
 Tho' 'tis not unrealbnable to fulpeft, that 
 the Name Amphitheatre^ mentioned in the 
 fame Life, was given to the Circus there alio ; 
 and this SocrateSy ^ Sozomen and others Ipeafc 
 of; juft as ^"^ Caffiodoriis does of the Cha- 
 rioteers of Milan. Moreover in the afore- 
 mentioned Acts we find, that while Maxi- 
 mine flood in the Sttggejltimy he caufed the 
 
 i> L.3. C.16, ^o i. 7.^.28. Vtir. /.J, r.2p. 
 
 fore-
 
 of Amphitheatres. 105 
 
 forefaid Martyrs to be tormented in that 
 City. Such Punifhments were commonly 
 inflided on Criminals within the Amphi- 
 theatre, tho' in thole Ads it is exprefs'd, 
 that they were martyr'd in the Circus. There 
 are two Copies of Verfes [exadly like one 
 another, composed in the time of Tepn, and 
 probably by the fame Author] now publifli'd 
 in the Treat ife relating to the Italian Af- 
 fairs 5 in one, the City oi Verona is defcrib'd, 
 and not a little extolFd • in the other, Milan. 
 As to the firft of thefe, mention is made in 
 a particular and diftinft manner of its Am- 
 phitheatre; but why nothing about that of 
 Milan? Tietro Lafena, in his Learned 
 Treatife upon the Neapolitan Gymnajtum, 
 reproaches Ibme people for their Ignorance in 
 believing that an Amphitheatre had been at 
 Naples*^ notwithftanding that City, in an- 
 cient times, was alfo very famous. 
 
 I have ftill one Remark to make on this 
 head, and it is this, that the very Stones 
 with Infcriptions have fuffered even in an- 
 cient times, for the realbns already given. 
 Among the few that have efcap'd that Ruin, 
 there are four remaining which refer to the 
 Amphitheatre ; but this Ihall be fliewn in its 
 proper place. Capua has been no lels unfor- 
 tunate in preferving its Infcriptions ; for, as 
 \t appears by the Treatife lately publifti'd on 
 the Antiquities of that Place, there are but 
 three left which mention its Amphitheatre.
 
 10(5 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 I would gladly know then, how it happens, 
 that if fuch Strudures had been in every 
 City, in the many Towns now fabfifting 
 there are fo few Stones with Infcriptions, that 
 mention thofe Buildings? 'Tis true, I have 
 obfcrv'd two printed Infcriptions, which fpeak 
 of anAmphithQatre, in Luco Feronia^ and in 
 Velletri , other two, hinted to have been in 
 Trenefte and Aliffi. Among other Writers 
 Lampridius mentions one in Lanuvium ; 
 XtphiUne alio gives a hint of one near '^Poz- 
 ziiolo: but whether thefe were entirely of 
 Stone, or partly of Wood, we have no Au- 
 thor pofitively determines. A fix'd Amphi- 
 theatre is feen at Cutanea in Sicily^ and we 
 read in ' ' Cajjiodonis, that the Citizens there 
 did both ask and obtain Leave from Theo- 
 doric, to make ufe of the Stones of its Ruins 
 for repairing their Walls. ' "- Agathtas men- 
 tions likewile one at Tarma^ which was 
 made ufe of by Butilinus, as a place of Am- 
 bulcade for his Soldiers. ' = "Frocopius fpeaks 
 of another at Spoleto, where a Captain o{Be- 
 lifarius had placed a Garrifon ; but whether 
 all thefe places had the Steps and the other 
 Parts of Stone, there is none who can de- 
 termine. But, in fine, be it as it will, with 
 regard to this or that particular City, in that 
 I fhall not be pofitive, nor raife Difptites 
 about it- tho' it is molt certain and felf- 
 
 II Var. lib. I. c. 49. i- Ag. Bel. Goth. 
 
 ^> Goth. /. 3. f. 23. 
 
 evident
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 107 
 
 evident from what is already faid, that in 
 the Trovinces^ and in Italy itfelf, Amphi- 
 theatres of Stone were neither in every City, 
 nor in fo great number as is commonly be- 
 lieved. 
 
 CHAR X. 
 
 From whence the Error proceeded ^ in 
 believing that there were Amphi- 
 theatres in every City. 
 
 TH E Prejudice is lb common that Am- 
 phitheatres were in every City of the 
 Roman Empire, that ' Velferus had no other 
 ground for his Affertion that one had been at 
 Augsburg, nor Mabillon better * Authority 
 that an Amphitheatre had been at Taris 
 and Toloufe. But I believe it will not be of 
 fmall Ufe to the Publick, if we trace this 
 Error from its firft Source, and the Motives 
 which had introduced that Opinion. 
 
 We may in the firft place account for this 
 by confidering, that People had never ima- 
 gined that Amphitheatres were made of Wood 
 as well as Stone. 'Tis ufual with People^ 
 when they affert that fixed Aren£ had been 
 in every City, to call to mind immediately 
 the great number of them built by Herod 
 in Judea^ fpokeof by many Authors. Jo- 
 
 I Rer.jiug. If. * Re.DJplom. l.^. ii. no. 14?. 
 
 fej)hus
 
 I08 Of A MPH'I THEATRES, 
 
 fephtis fpeaks of two, one 2Xjerufalem^ the 
 other in Cefarea. But why don't they con- 
 fider, that that King, in order to flatter the 
 Romans y by introducing their Cuftoms, gave 
 into this Singularity in the time of Auguftus ? 
 that is, long before there were any Examples 
 of Amphitheatres made of Stone : I mean, 
 before that of Titus had been feen ; which 
 is fufficient to convince, that without doubt 
 Herod's Amphitheatres were of Wood, and 
 therefore 'twas eafy for him to build two of 
 that Material. But neither in Authors, nor 
 in Monuments of Antiquity is any more men- 
 tion made of them. We may fay the lame 
 of that other, which Jofephus relates to 
 have been built at BerytuSy by King Agrip- 
 pay in the Reign of Claudius, But this 
 Hiftorian does not afterwards fo much as 
 hint, that there were Amphitheatres either 
 in Cefarea or Berytus^ at the Time when 
 Titus celebrated the Birth-days of his Father 
 and Brother, wherein that Emperor exhi- 
 bited feveral kinds of Shews ; in one of 
 which, between thofe devoured by the Beafts, 
 and others which periihed in the Flames, 
 and by combating, there died, he fays, 2500 
 captive Jews. Nor does it fignify, that he 
 Ipeaks of thofe Edifices as great Works, 
 fince even an Amphitheatre of Wood was 
 no fmall Building. That one of Wood e- 
 reded by NerOy is mentioned by Tacitus 
 as a llimptuous Structure i but the other at 
 
 Fidena^
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 109 
 
 Fidena,, of Wood alfo, was capable of con- 
 taining fifty Thoufand People. From the 
 whole we may remark, that Jofephus had 
 a violent Inclination to magnify the Things 
 of his own Nation. It feems. Example was 
 one of the chief Realbns why the foremen- 
 tioned King Agrippa had 700 Couple of 
 Malefaftors ready for fighting. But as to 
 the frequent ufe of Amphitheatres of Wood, 
 'tis obferved in Tacitus^ that Cecinna and 
 Valens^ being defirous to exhibit Gladiatory 
 Games in Cremona and Bologna-, iit order to 
 gratify VitelliuSy ordered the Soldiers of 
 the 15/^ Legion to build Amphitheatres 
 there. But can we imagine Strudures erefted 
 in one fingle Sealbn of the Year, could be 
 of any other Materials but Wood, and exe- 
 cuted by Military Hands? We learn from 
 Xiphiline^ that in Caracalla's Expeditions 
 he was defirous to have Amphitheatres and 
 Circi in all thofe Places where he wintered. 
 How can we then think that fuch occafional 
 Works, built Ibmetimes in one Place, fome- 
 times in another, were of Stone ? The Le- 
 gions had their peculiar Builders among them, 
 as Infcriptions inform us, but iiich were for 
 Wood Work: Smiths they had alio, but 
 no Mafons 5 fince the Employment of the 
 latter was of no ule in military Machinery. 
 The Municipal Arena mentioned by Ju- 
 venaly m which thofe People, who. after- 
 wards became wealthy^ had wrought ; thefe 
 
 Struclurcw^
 
 no 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Struftures, I fay, ought not to be underftood 
 Theatres, as is falfly believed by Ibme mo- 
 dern Commentators, and contrary to the ex- 
 prefs Declaration of the ancient Scholiaft him- 
 felf, nor indeed ought it to be underftood 
 of Amphitheatres of Marble. 
 
 That Gladiatory Games ought not to be 
 reckoned as proceeding from the ufe of any 
 kind of Amphitheatres, we have already 
 fhevvn, tho' it might well have happened, 
 that fome of the ordinary Cities, might on cer- 
 tain Occafions have made ufe of them and 
 Huntings too: For thofe Shews were as 
 much praclifed in the Circi as in the Am- 
 phitheatres. Nay, we find the Emperor 
 Trobus ordered the Htunting which he gave 
 to be ftiewn in the Circus^ called by l^o^ 
 pifcus^ a moft ample Building. They like- 
 wife exhibited them in the Stadittmy which 
 place was allotted to the Athlete for Wreft- 
 ling and Boxing, being eafily prepared, and 
 much ufed in the Eaft'^ lb that every City 
 of Note had its particular Stadium. They 
 exhibited them likewife within Palifadoes of 
 Wood, of which Material the Steps were alio 
 made, as we find mentioned in the Acts of 
 St. 'Demetrius. Another Motive for indu- 
 cing People to believe that, at leaft, in great 
 Cities they had Amphitheatres, was from 
 feeing the like kinds of Buildings in the 
 lefler Towns. ^ Lipfius faid he knew for 
 
 5 Am^hit, Ext. B.. t. f. Scio majora mnltOi ^-c. 
 
 certain^
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, hi 
 
 certain, that the moft noble Towns in Gattl 
 had Amphitheatres ; and this, for no other 
 reafon, but becaufe there was one at Nimes : 
 Nay, he adds, that he was perluaded other 
 Cities had Amphitheatres ftill more magnifi- 
 cent than the Town juft now mentioned, in 
 proportion as they were larger than it. But 
 in this I think there are more than one Ab- 
 furdity ; fince, in the firft place, the ered- 
 ing a fixed Amphitheatre did not depend 
 folely on the Richnefs and Largenels of a 
 City, but on having Quarries of Marble and 
 Stone of their own, near at hand j which, 
 I think, contributed not a little to the ha- 
 ving fuch Fabricks ereded; as, no doubt, 
 did likewife the exalted and noble Genius of 
 the Inhabitants, where the Knowledge of 
 Architeclure, and a great Paffion for Shews 
 prevailed. But in the Sequel, when we treat 
 thereon, we Ihall plainly Ihew what we un- 
 derftand by the greater and lefler Cities 5 
 fince we muft not have any regard to the 
 prefent Times, or latter Centuries, but to the 
 higher Ages of the Roman Empire, for in 
 them alone the erecting of Amphitheatres was 
 undertaken. In more modern Hiftories it 
 appears, that almoft all the Cities which are 
 now the greateft and moft famous, have been 
 chiefiy augmented in the third Century \ I 
 mean, after the new Syftem of Religion was 
 introduced in Conftanthies time : lb that 'tis 
 no wonder if Amphitheatres then were not 
 in ufc. VVhut
 
 Ill 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 What leems likewife to have occafioned 
 the forefaid erroneous Belief, may be dedu- 
 ced from the Ambiguity of the Names of 
 thofe Struftures. Salmajius^ Tagiy Baltic 
 z>io and others have underftood the Word 
 Lufortum to be the fame with that of Am- 
 phitheatre : Lipjius took it for LuduSy or a 
 School for Gladiators. But Lampridius (who, 
 if I miftake not, was the firft that made ufe 
 of that Word) fays, that ^ Heliogabalus 
 made a Triclinium or Dining-Room on the 
 Top of the Luforium^ and that while he 
 dined he caufed the Huntings of Wild-Beafts 
 and the Combats of Criminals to be performed 
 there for his own Entertainment. All which 
 fhews, that the Building was rather a kind 
 of Court- Yard, orinclofed Place appropriated 
 for the Games in the Palace. Nor do I think 
 * Lipjittfs Amendment right, when in ex- 
 plaining the word Noxios, he maks it Gla- 
 diators. And, indeed, what I have afTerted 
 from the ^ Book of the T>eaths of the Terfe- 
 cutorSy is confirmed thereby; where it is faid, 
 that Maximilian had a Ltiforium, and a 
 great number of very fierce Beafts, which, 
 when he had a mind, he caufed to be brought 
 into it, and where he fet them on to devour 
 People 5 his Cuftom having been, never to 
 fup without Bloodflied. Sometimes alfo the 
 
 ^ Stravit fihi triclinium injummo Luforio, ^ dnm ^randeret 
 Noxios o> Venationes fibi exhibuit. 
 
 f Sat.Ser.l.i. c.\4e> ^Cap.ii. 
 
 3 words
 
 (yAlVIPHITHEATRES. U^ 
 
 words Arena and Cavca have made People 
 iniftake, becaufe they don't always allude to 
 the Amphitheatre; of old it was call'd 
 Arena^ for having commonly Sand ftrew'd 
 on the Ground v/ithin it, to hinder the Feet 
 of the Combatants from Hiding, and likewife 
 that their Blood might be thereby abforbed. 
 But as the like was done in the Circus^ the 
 fame Name was given to it alfb, and every 
 other Place appointed for publick Games. 
 That the Forum was alio covered with Sand, 
 whenever the Gladiators were to fight, . we 
 learn from a Verfe of Tropertius, '' Ltpfius 
 deny'd that the '^'Sim^ Arena was ever given 
 to the Circus : But when TUny fpoke of 
 the Arena ^Pompey the Great-, he certainly 
 did not mean that of the Amphitheatres, 
 which then were not in ufe. So that where 
 he fpeaks of defafs having Jtirrotmded the 
 Arena with a T>itch, by the word Cavea 
 the Theatre v/as alio underftood, on account 
 of the fimilitude of the Auditorium^ like a 
 Concavity in all thofe Edifices. ^ Cicero 
 however fays, that in theC^x'^^, bothfing- 
 ing and playing on Inftruments were per- 
 form'd, the whole having echoed with the 
 Applaufe of a T)rama made by Tacuvius. 
 9 Tertulliam fhews the double meaning ot 
 
 7 Ampb. cap.-^. /. 8. c.zi.^7- 
 
 ^ De Leg. de Am'ic, 
 
 9 DeSpeci.cap.ult. Wr^.que Ciive;{ nm Caula. 
 
 the
 
 114 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 the word Cavea, exprefling it thas : That 
 the Enjoyment of the Bleffed ftiall be much 
 more agreeable than the Circus and Stadium^ 
 and of both the C^w^i", [as it ought to be read] 
 namely, of the Theatre and Amphitheatre. 
 I o Symmachus mentions the Scenic Pleafures 
 of the Cavea Tompeiana, 
 
 But above all, we ought to read the Works 
 of modern Authors, and the Antiquities they 
 give us, with great Caution ; becaufe, as to 
 the Roman Buildings, in proportion as they 
 loft the ufe of them, fo have they confound- 
 ed their Names one with another ; inlbmuch 
 that the words Amphitheatre^ Theatre^ Cir- 
 cus^ Stadium and Arena^ are often ufed 
 promifcuoufly, and not a little abufed 5 con- 
 fequently not to be underltood, according to 
 their proper and ancient Signification. The 
 Mifcellan Hiftory calls that of Titus a 
 Theatre : Zonara and Manajfe^ in their 
 poetical Veries, term the Circus a Theatre : 
 ^ ^ CaJJlodoriis confounds the word Hiftr tones 
 or Stage-Players, v/ith that of Aurig£ or 
 Charioteers : The M. S. of the Acts quoted 
 by Arringhiy fpcaks of fome Martyrs fliut 
 up in an Amphitheatre without the Walls of 
 a certain City; but as there was no fuch 
 Building on the outfide of Rome^ fo 'tis evi- 
 dent that, if he means it there, it muft be 
 
 *o jjib. 10. c. If. 
 
 un-
 
 Of Amphitheatres, 115 
 
 underftood the Circtts ; fince, as ' "- Tanvi- 
 nius relates, there were not a few .C/m near 
 Rome. The word Arena was like wife 
 fometimes given to every kind of Stru6lure 
 refembling an Amphitheatre, of which we 
 have fhewn an Example, particularly of that 
 in Tadua. Agnello fpeaks of an Amphi- 
 theatre in Ravenna^ but both the time it 
 was built, and his relating that near it the 
 Temple oi Apollo flood, makes it evident that 
 it was only a Theatre. Neverthelefs, there 
 the Gladiators were fent to be trained up and 
 difciplin'd j and, as ^Strabo avers, on account 
 of the Wholelbmeneis of the Air there, Ca- 
 far had formerly thought to appropriate it 
 to the forefaid ufe: which, indeed, was at 
 a time when Amphitheatres were not in be- 
 ing. Salvianus mentions the Theatre as the 
 moft Angular Curiofity in Ravennay but 
 Ipeaks not one word about the Amphitheatre. 
 The anonymous Velefianus informs us, that 
 Theodoric built an Amphitheatre in Vavia 5 
 but who can believe they thought on fuch a 
 Strudure in the fixth Age of Chriftianity,when 
 the Gladiators and every kind of bloody Games 
 were abolifhed ? So that we muft conclude 
 it to have been a Theatre or Circus^ fince 
 'tis certain Horfe-Races were every where 
 much longer in ufe, as were the Circenjian 
 Games, celebrated even by ' ^ Totila. I ob- 
 ferv d, with much Pleafure, in that City a 
 
 I 2 moft
 
 11(5 0/ Amphitheatre Sa 
 
 moft eurious and noted Infcription, relating 
 to fuch a kind of Edifice, made by Theo^ 
 dork ; tho' the Legend does not explain pre- 
 cifely what the Building was. 
 
 And indeed there are a great number of 
 modern, and even famous Writers, who 
 fometimes.confound the Words Amphitheatre 
 and Theatre one with the other \ nor a few 
 who fuffer themfelves to be deceiv'd by 
 Monuments not genuine, and by laying too 
 great a ftrefs on the modern Lives of Saints, ^ 
 and the ipurious Deeds of Martyrs, wherein 
 the word Amphitheatre is here and there 
 often mentioned. But what Ihail we fay to 
 the Latin Verfions of Authors, or \h^ Greek 
 Monuments, which place Amphitheatres 
 where they never could have been? For 
 example, the Latin Ads of Saint Taracus 
 and his Companions, names the Amphitheatre 
 three times i but in the Greek Original, we 
 read that the Martyrdoms of thofe Saints 
 enfued in the '^ Stadium, In the Tranfla- 
 tion of the Fragment of the Book of Martyrs 
 in Talefiiney Amphitheatres are three times 
 named, tho' the Greek of Eufebius has no 
 fuch thing ; for there we read that the Shew 
 was perform^ in the Stadium. In the Life 
 of Hadrian the Sophift, wrote by ' ^ Thi- 
 Iqftratusy the Latin changes the words 
 Amphitheatrical Shews thus, the Rounds 
 
 
 '^ I
 
 0/ Am PHI THE AT RES. II7 
 
 of Trances. On the other hand, Teanius 
 in his Greek Verfion, renders it, The Gla- 
 dtdtory Theatres whereas the Latin oi Eu- 
 tropius has it Ludus, namely, the School of 
 Gladiators. In the Tranflation of * T>io 'tis 
 faid, that the lm2igQoiT>rufilla was brought 
 into the Theatre on a Chariot drawn by Ele- 
 phants; whereas the Greek has it Circus. 
 In Xiphiline\ Greek likewife, 'tis common 
 to find the Theatre call'd Amphitheatre j and 
 the word Hunting, as Tl)io ules to term it, 
 left out of the Text. But Xiphiline feems 
 Hot to have liked the word Amphitheatre 
 at all ; no more did the other Greeks : The 
 reafon of which can be nothing elfe, I think, 
 but that the forefaid word had its Origin in 
 Italy^ and out of Greece \ and this, if I 
 miftake not, is pretty well confirmed in the 
 Remarks I made in my ^^ Hiftory oiT^iplo- 
 ma's ; namely, that the word Diploma itlelf, 
 notwithftanding it was Gr^^^, was however not 
 ufed by the Grecians^ ' ^ Tlutarch excepted, 
 and even by him with a kind of Modefty ; 
 and for no other Reafon, but becaufe it had 
 its Origin out of Greece, and was ufed at 
 Rome. 
 
 But to conclude this Head, 'tis certain that 
 many have been miftaken in fuiTeying the 
 Remains of ancient Buildings, by taking one 
 thing for another. The fmall "Peninfula of 
 
 * Lib. 5-9. '"J i. I. ». 15. 
 
 I 3 Sarmio
 
 Ii8 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 Sarmio in our Lake, becaufe there are the 
 Remains of feme Walls, and a part of a 
 Building there, has been judged to be a 
 Roman Work, and is caird, the Houfe of 
 Catullus ', which Name feems not without 
 fome reafon to have been given it, and ap- 
 pears to have been handed down to our times. 
 ^Tarthenius the Commentator on that Poet, 
 imagined this to be the Remains of a Theatre ; 
 which Opinion was approved of by Jofeph 
 Scaliger, fo that ■\'T>empfter very fantaftically 
 reckoned Sarmio among the twelve Cities of 
 the Hetrurians on this fide oix\iQ Appennines. 
 The truth is, the ancient Palaces had fome 
 parts like the Auditory of the Theatres, as 
 I have obferved in feveral ancient Remains. 
 Valejius^ in his Account of Gaul^ obferves, 
 and from him ^Mabilloriy that one of the 
 Amphitheatres, about which Ltpfais has 
 treated, was no Amphitheatre at all, but 
 only the Ruins of a Palace of the Kings of 
 France : and indeed the Defcription Lipfius 
 gave of it, agrees neither with the Structure 
 of an Amphitheatre, nor a Palace j that 
 Author having, I am afraid, not employed 
 his Judgement therein to much purpofc. 
 But the moft experienced Antiquaries have 
 fometimes committed fuch Blunders ; as 
 is plain by || Fabrettiy w^ho imagined he 
 faw the Remains of an Amphitheatre at 
 Trebtila Mtittiefca \ whereas himfelf ftiews, 
 
 * Theatri lateritii reliquiis, ^c. f Het. B,egal. I. 4. 
 
 f.9. 6 107. :|: Ke,ili^l. l,^, c, 14a, || Infc. ;^.40o. 
 
 it
 
 O/' Amphitheatres, ho 
 
 it had ceafed to be a City long before any 
 Ideaof an Amphitheatre had been conceived. 
 
 The Appearance of any round or oval 
 Figure produces in fome Peoples Imagina- 
 tion, the Fancy of an Amphitheatre. To 
 this we may add, that where the Remains 
 of a Circus or Theatre are to be feen, nay 
 of many other kinds of ancient Buildings, 
 they very much relemble the Figure of an 
 Amphitheatre, But what fhall we lay, when it 
 happens in many places^ that People on finding 
 Ruins, immediately cry out, that they are the 
 Remains of an Amphitheatre, or of fome Ro- 
 man Temple or another j and yet every Part 
 of what they do fee, is modern, and not io 
 much as an antique Stone to be found, or the 
 leaft Refemblance of one appearing there ? 
 
 Nay, what fhall we fay to the great num- 
 ber of Prints, which in a bare-faced m.anner 
 are made to impofe upon us, by having lofty 
 Amphitheatres in Cities and Places engra- 
 ven on them, when mif-lhapen Figures, of 
 a roundifli Form, are only to be found 
 at thofe Places ? In the Book intitled 
 Antiquities explain d, a Drawing is given of 
 an Amphitheatre of three Orders at Auttin^ 
 as if it ftill exifted there, with a Portico 
 above the Steps, and Statues on the outfide ; 
 but thofe \yho have been in the Country 
 affirm, that all this is merely the Work of 
 the Pen, and Buildings upon Paper. Of this 
 we are fure, by obferving the whole is only 
 I 4 copied
 
 120 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 copied from a Drawing of Ligorioy who 
 figured out the Arena of Verona according 
 to his own Caprice. For w^hich reafon we 
 Ihall give that Building a place with our 
 Nattmachia^ as a thing thruft into the poft- 
 humous Works of Tanvinius^ on the Anti- 
 quities of Verona. In the forementioned 
 Collection, the intire Drawing and Profile of 
 the Steps of the Amphitheatre of Italica in 
 Spain^ is alio ilievvn; notwithftanding w^e 
 read at the fame time, that the faid Amphi- 
 theatre is ruin d, even to its very Foundation. 
 In the ample and noble Collection oi Archi- 
 tectonic Vv^orks, lately compiled by Fifchers^ 
 'tis affirm/d that the Amphitheatre of Ter- 
 ragona contained Eighty thouland Men j and 
 this Calculation they have been able to make 
 from a fm.all Piece of an ancient Wall, and 
 a:n Arcade, which they are inibrm'd is re- 
 maining in thole Parts. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 "That 'tis eafy to mijlake the Monu- 
 ments GJ Antiquity by the Draughts 
 given of them^ and to believe Am- 
 phitheatres to be where they are not, 
 
 IF People miftake in judging about the 
 very Remains of ancient BuildingS;, what 
 may they not in the Imagery of them;, upon 
 3 worn-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, hi 
 
 worn-^oat Metal, or in half-confumed Bajfo- 
 Relievo* s or other kinds of ancient Monu- 
 ments wliich they fee ? In the T>itttci de- 
 lineated by Anaftafius^ the eaftern Conful 
 Vtltemius imagined he faw the Figure of 
 an Amphitheatre, in which the Games of 
 Wild -Beafts and Men were performed ; and 
 this was afterwards copied by Tagt, But I 
 would gladly know what Appearance there 
 is of an Amphitheatre in a Semi-Circle, with- 
 out Steps, and where the Speftators are re- 
 prefented on the outfide of it ? Nay, it is 
 extremely well confirmed by the forefaid 
 ^ittici^ that in Conftantinople they exhibited 
 fuch Shews in very different kinds of Build- 
 ings, and not in an Amphitheatre, altho' by 
 a like ufe they may lometimes have been 
 called by that Name. In the fame manner 
 a certain Edifice which appears on a Medal 
 of Faiiftina the Elder, publifti'd by Mezza- 
 barba^ is judgd to be an Amphitheatre, but 
 not juftly : But at prefent I find it conve- 
 nient to treat particularly on the Amphi- 
 theatres believ'd by Ibme to be on Trajan's 
 Pillar. 
 
 I knov/ not what kind of round Building 
 It is that is twice reprefented, obfcurely, on 
 the forefaid Pillar ; the firft near a City be- 
 fieg'd by the T>acians^ the next, where the 
 Embaffadors are lent ixom'Decebahts to Tra- 
 jan : It is not poffible, I fay, from the Ob- 
 fcurity of the Stone to ajQTert what they really 
 
 are ;
 
 IZI Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 are: And indeed notwithftanding '^ Ciacco- 
 nius has illuftrated that incomparable Mo- 
 nument to very great Advantage, when he 
 comes to thofe two places he prudently pafles 
 by them, and fays nothing on that head. 
 Bellori^ who afterwards made frefti Anno- 
 tations thereon, imagined he could diftinguifh 
 Steps, therefore thinks they reprefented Am- 
 phitheatres ; fpeaking of one of them, he fays, 
 ^5 Among the Buildings of that City^ or 
 Caftle^ there was a Caftrenfian Amphitheatre 
 of Wood. *° Fabretti laugh'd at their be- 
 lieving it Cajlrenfan^ or of Woodj and in 
 fuppofing it fix*d, he thought it indicated that 
 City to have been a Roman Colony. But that 
 would be a new Mark of a Colony indeed, fince 
 there were none at that time in thole Parts : 
 For, as we learn from TDio, they were only 
 eftablifli'd by Trajan after the War was 
 ended. And indeed it would be too ftrange 
 a thing, to find that fuch obfcure and unknown 
 Cities upon the Ttbifcits had then Amphi- 
 theatres. But allowing that the foremention'd 
 Buildings had been there, we cannot believe 
 them to have been made of any other Ma- 
 terial but Wood, and, indeed, the hafty 
 Produftions of military Hands ; like the other 
 two Buildings in Italy made by a Legion, 
 in the time of VitelliuSy as is already men- 
 tioned. What is feen in the firft Print, as 
 
 ^® Tab. 29, ^ .87. ^9 Tab, 23. ^ 8j. 
 
 so Colon.Tra. ^ag, 39. ^ 8^. 
 
 3 it
 
 of Amphitheatres, izj 
 
 It is exactly delineated by ikf//r/^7^//j, inclines 
 us to believe them of Wood. Fabretti at- 
 tefts, that the principal Piles in the Circuit 
 of fuch a Building, were painted at the Top 
 as Palifadoes are at prefent; which agrees 
 with the Defcriptions we have of the an- 
 cient Vallum. A Medal of Ltctnius^ and 
 alio the Authority of Varro and Livy^ 
 perfuade us throughly, that the Wood of 
 the Vallum was form'd in another manner : 
 But in the beginning of the foremention'd 
 Pillar, we find the Wood of that enclofed 
 Place fliarpen'd in the fame manner, and it 
 likewife furrounds the military Magazines in 
 an oval Form. Befides, 'tis certain, that the 
 Soldiers in that War had fomething elie to do 
 than to build Amphitheatres j and, indeed, 
 oval and round Figures, feen on thofe worn- 
 out Stones, may be apply 'd to too great a 
 number of things : jNor will any [who knows 
 the extravagant Irregularities often found in 
 the Works of the Ancients, with regard to 
 Proportion or Perfpeftive] venture to deter- 
 mine any thing about them. Wherefore one 
 muft not truft too much either to the height 
 or bignefs of the like Figures, as they ap- 
 pear there. 
 
 In fome Medals of Silver is to be feen a 
 Figure not unlike that already mentioned 
 on Trajan^ Pillar, tho' fomewhat nearer re- 
 fembling an Amphitheatre : The Reverie 
 of which would furely be fo judged, if the 
 
 Legend
 
 114 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Legend did not make it appear otherwife; and 
 the round Figure here reprefented, had not 
 been called a Tratorian Campy by the An- 
 tiquaries who firft obferv'd it ; and for which 
 reafbn it bears that Name till this day. 
 But before we begin to treat about it, I ftiall 
 give another here, which, in my Opinion, 
 reprefents the fame thing ; and what remains 
 of the Circuit, feems to have prepared the 
 way to them. Upon it is the Head of Ful- 
 n^ius Julius ^ietus^ who is reckoned a- 
 mong the Tyrants ; and of whom no Greek 
 Medal had ever before been feen, but only 
 an Egyptian Coin regiftrated by T. Banduri, 
 That the Reverfe does not figure out any 
 *Fr£torian^ or any other Camp or Palifade, 
 as is believed of fome other Medals like it, 
 is manifeft, by finding Walls and Towers, 
 and fumptuous Gates thereon, and by our 
 underftanding from the Word below, that 
 the City of Hicea is reprefented there. Ano- 
 ther Greek Medal, which had never before 
 been feen of Macrianus, Brother of ^lietus^ 
 was publilhed by Signor Haym^ a Roman 
 in his Teforo Britannico : it is likewife ftrucfc 
 in the fame City, having the like Figure upon 
 it. It is very natural to think, that the 
 Walls and Gates of Nicea were repaired 
 (to which the Citizens alluded by fuch Coins) 
 during the War with Terfia^ in which §}tu^ 
 etus behaved fo gallantly. 
 
 How-
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 115 
 
 However, round or oval Enclofures are 
 feen in the forementioned Medals of Silver, 
 which [as far as was poffible to be repre- 
 fented in fo fmall a Space] much more re- 
 fembles an Amphitheatre, than other Figures 
 that are taken for fuch Buildings, tho' in- 
 deed they are commonly explained as repre- 
 fenting Tr£torian Camps, Such kinds of 
 Figures on Medals, began to appear in the 
 Time of T>iocleJian. Before the Gate of 
 the Enclofure ftand four Men, in a military 
 Habit ^ two of them in the Attitude of fa- 
 crificing on an Altar, the others have a Tri- 
 pode in the Middle. The fame Reverfe is 
 on a Coin of Maximianus HerculeiuSj who, 
 together with T)ioclefian^ was Emperor j 
 likewile in that of Galerius and ConftanSy 
 who at the fame time were Cafars, Three 
 different Legends are found on a Medal, 
 on which are all their Heads engraven ; the 
 Inlcription is thus, TrovidenttdAuguftorumy 
 Virtus Milittim, VittGria Sarmatica. So 
 that as there were no Amphitheatres at that 
 time, notwithftanding the Appearance of 
 them; neither do I believe, that on thofe 
 Coins are reprefented either Tratorian Camps 
 in Rome^ or Campejirtan in War. The 
 Walls figured out on them are either oval 
 or round, but the Roman Vallum [which 
 was not a Stone Wall, nor Tov/ers, but of 
 Earth, like the Entrenchments in this pre- 
 ftnt Age] was Iquare, as may very well 
 
 be
 
 Il6 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 be gathered from Tolybius. The Tr£torian 
 Camps were made near the Walls of Romej 
 in imitation of the Encampments for the 
 Army in War, and of a fquare Form, as 
 appears by their Remains, obferved by Tan- 
 wnius h ox at leaft, as fuch they were feen 
 in his Time, between the l^imind and Ti- 
 burtine Gates, in the Place where the Viva- 
 rium is thought to have been. From the 
 Iquare Figure of the Remains of thole Walls 
 *^ T.'Donato was confirmed in the Belief, 
 that they had been Tr^torian Camps. On 
 the other hand, the figures of Cities are found 
 impreffed in that manner upon Medals; 
 namely, with a round Enclofure^ as is feen 
 in the Colonia Cajilinum in Cafars Coins, 
 which feem'd to Mezzabarba to be a fphe- 
 rical Building, with Towers at Intervals, as 
 the. City Tufculana appears in the Coins of 
 the Sulpician Family, refer'd to by Urfinus. 
 I therefore think, that the forementioned 
 Medals have not Tratorian Camps repre- 
 fented on them, as has hitherto been in- 
 terpreted 5 but on that Coin of Nicea^ no 
 lefs than a whole City is figured out, either 
 as having been fubdued in War, [as is de- 
 noted by the Words, Virtus Militum Vic- 
 toria Sarmaticd] or as reftored and fortified 
 anew ; which is pointed out by that other, 
 with the Legend, Trovidentta Auguftorum. 
 Kor could any boaft of the Sarmatic Vifto- 
 
 «8 L. I. c. ly. 
 
 ry
 
 of Amphitheatres, 117 
 
 ry with fo much ]uftice, as thole foremen- 
 tioned Princes ^ on account of whofe Expe- 
 ditions, Eumenius, in his Panegyric on Con- 
 Jians fays, that that Nation was almoft de- 
 ftroyed. And fince fuch an Impreffion is no 
 where elfe feen but on thofe four who reign'd 
 together, and are found with all thofe Mot- 
 to's in every one of them, 'tis therefore pro- 
 bable, that the four Figures there, reprefent 
 the two Emperors, and both the Cafars : 
 And by the Sacrifice or Dedication of the 
 Building, or the rendering Thanks for the 
 Viftory, is denoted the Conjunftion or Con- 
 cord among them, attributing to the '^ whole 
 that which every one of them had performed. 
 The Gonjefture I have made, that on thefe 
 Coins thePr^Z-^ri^/^Camps were not reprefent- 
 ed, but only the Cities, feems to be confirmed 
 by that Medal in the fecond Plate here an- 
 nexed, which till now had never. been feen; 
 where the Words Ihew, that by the fame 
 Type the City of Ferona is reprefented. 
 And here I Ihall firft of all give an account 
 how this Momumcnt of Antiquity fell lately 
 by chance into my hands. While I was 
 fearching among the CoUeclions of Medals 
 in Venice^ in order to fee if any other Le- 
 gend could be found with that Impreffion, 
 befides thofe three already mentioned, I 
 earneftly begg'd of my courteous Friend, the 
 
 *5 Vo^if. in cwin. ^Atmr fma Fmcipes unum in Republic a 
 fentientes. 
 
 Abbot
 
 Il8 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 Abbot Onorio Arrigoniy to look into his vafi: 
 CoUedion, among which are thole of Plate 
 the fccond ; all which that worthy Gentle- 
 man keeps not only for his own Amufement, 
 but with a noble Defign thereby to promote 
 Learning. Among the many and particular 
 Series's colleded by him, he has Soo Medias of 
 Colony Sj 1500 Greek Coins, and 1200 Egyp- 
 tiau':, which laft, if I can, fome time or 
 another, have but leifure to publifh, I am not 
 out of hope but that Chronology in general 
 will thereby receive fome new Light. The 
 next day that Gentleman brought me eight 
 Medals of Silver, having all the fame Reverfe : 
 among the others, the Coin we have hint- 
 ed at, the Singularity of the Legend of which 
 he then only wonder'd at, notwithftanding it 
 had long before been fold him among a 
 heap of others of Silver, without having ob- 
 ferved it, or judging it of greater value than 
 what it barely weighed. This Circumftance 
 immediately gave credit to its Genuinenels, 
 fince a fpurious Coin could not have been 
 made, but with a defign to impofe on the 
 World, and to gain by it. The good Opi- 
 nion concerning its being genuine, was more- 
 over confirmed by all who took a view of 
 the Medal, and the Agreement of that which 
 it contained. The Head is of Galerius 
 Maximtis^ who, together with Confiantius 
 Chlonis-, was made C<;;/^r, by the tsvo Em- 
 perors, Anno 302. The Legend on the Re- 
 verfe
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. ii^i 
 
 verfe I read thus, Verona Nova Tort a rite 
 condita. Scarce was Conjtans made defar^ 
 but he was fent into Gaul: Concerning G^- 
 lerius^ not any thing is mentioned for a 
 long time by Hiftorians , I only find that 
 he fought w^ith the Sarmatians, and built 
 Caftles am.ong them ; and yet we fee Coins 
 of him with his Image, and the Words, 
 Vitioria Sarmatica thereon; and where, as 
 we have fald, are Cities or Caftles reprefent- 
 ed. He alfo was in the Wars in Germany^ 
 lb that 'tis credible he paffed feveral times 
 through Italy ^ tho' we do not find it men- 
 tioned, except in the Year 304, when he 
 came to confer with Maximian the Elder at 
 Milan i and yet nothing feems to be more 
 natural, than to imagine that in his Paflage 
 or Stay at Verona^ he erefted a new Gate 
 there. Gallienus^ not long before, had 
 built new Walls, with a fumptuous Gate, 
 which fubfifts till this day : the Infcription 
 thereon being ftill to be leen^and as thatWorfc 
 was performed in very great hafte, as appears 
 by that Infcription, fo it is probable that 
 another Gate may have remained imperfect, 
 and afterwards compleated by the Emperor 
 Maximian. Atirelius Victor hints at feveral 
 Walls re-built by Maximian in various Cities, 
 among others thofe of Milan. Our Gate, 
 as thelnfcription denotes, was ere£ted riteroiz* 
 according to the Rite prefcrib'd in the Pagan 
 Religion, and with thofe Jufpicia xcquircd in 
 K " building
 
 ijO 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 building Walls and Gates of Cities ; which, 
 as we find mjuftinia7i'sln^'\i\iits^ were then 
 ^° efteemed facred things. The Sacrifice 
 however, as appears by the Medal already 
 thereon, was performed after the new Gate 
 had been made, and at its Entry, according 
 to the ufual Rites, which denotes its Dedi- 
 cation ; that is, they declared the Work was 
 perfected, and that they began with the Fa- 
 vour of the Gods to make ufe of it. And 
 indeed, its agreement with Hiftory, as well as 
 the Ceremony and Words ufed here, feem very 
 much above the knowledge of the Falfifiers 
 of Coins, who, as the good Providence of 
 God will have it, are, for the moll part, 
 Idiots and ignorant Fellows : It being obferv'd, 
 that as foon as they fend any of their Perfor- 
 mances abroad into the World, they are com- 
 monly attended with Ibme Blunder or other 
 of their own making. To which we may 
 add, that it is not at all probable, that any 
 Perlbn feigning the Reprefentation of a City 
 by the Words round the Coin, would have 
 made Choice of a Medal, the Impreffion on 
 which hitherto has not been taken for a City, 
 but always a Prsetorian Camp. Nor ought 
 it to be regarded, that by the Impreffion it- 
 felf feveral Cities are reprefented on fuch 
 Medals, one in Itahy another in Sarmatia^ 
 and others we know not w^here.. For as in 
 
 *° Be Rer.Div. I. 2. San^A quee^ui res velnti muri ^ forU 
 dvitatis, 
 
 the
 
 O/" Amphitheatres, i^i 
 
 the lower Ages the Legend on Medals did 
 not often allude to a particular Faft, as they 
 did in the higher, fince by mere flattery the 
 Motto was apply 'd in common to any of the 
 Emperors; fo did they often make ufe of 
 the fame Impreflions varioufly : The Figures 
 in the Medals of Confiantiney which are in 
 the fame Attitude and Clothing, fometimes 
 denote France-, fometimes Germany, A 
 Reprefentation which comes near this we are 
 now delcribing, namely, with a Wall, and 
 a Gate, but without the four Figures, and 
 made likewife to refemble a City or Caftle ; 
 not Praetorian Camps, as 'tis interpreted, and 
 not Magazines, as Ibme others would lately 
 have it underttood : Such an Impreflion on a 
 Medal, I fay, begins to be feen in the time 
 of Conftantius Chlorus, and continues even 
 to the time of Crifpus ; being the Reverie 
 of, at leatt, ten different Heads, and with 
 the fame Legend, Trovidentiay Plrfus^fome- 
 times Militum, at others Auo^lorum or C^- 
 fanim. And 'tis undoubtedly certain, that 
 tho' the Form is the fame, yet the City re- 
 ftored or fortify 'd, or, if you pleafe, the 
 Caftle denoted, for the moft part are different 
 one from the other. The fame Impreflion we 
 find on the Coins oiVakntinian^ oi Magnus 
 Maximtis, and of Elavius ViBor^ but with 
 a different Infcription. By which is confirm 'd, 
 how very much thofe People have been 
 miftaken, who take fuch Figures for Pr^- 
 K 2 torian
 
 Ijl 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 torian Camps, fince In thofe days no fuch thing 
 was in nfe, having been deftroy'd by Con- 
 ftantine after his Victory over MaxentiuSy 
 and the Praetorian Bands, v/hich had been 
 favourable to him, as "■' Zofimus fays, were 
 abolilhed. 
 
 The military Quarters, not the Prsetorian, 
 might only perhaps be reprefented by fuch 
 an Imprellion, inafmuch a^ the fix'd Qiiar- 
 ters or Garilbns placed in the Enemy's Fron- 
 tiers, were like Caftles, whence the words 
 Caftrnm and Caftellttm had their Origine. 
 And fuch may have been thofe Cajira Tra- 
 Jidiaria^ mentioned by *^ Ammiamis Mar- 
 cellinuSy to have been built by Valentinian 
 on the other, fide the T>anube. Vi^or 
 mentions Camps to have been made, even 
 from Trajan^ time, in the places mojt fiif- 
 ■peBed. As to my own Belief, that what 
 was reprefented on the Coin of Verona and 
 others, was the Gate of a City and not a 
 Camp ; a Difficulty occur'd to me at firft 
 therein : namely, when I obferv'd that the 
 Gates of ancient Cities were made double, 
 like ours of Gallientis in Verona, and as 
 'tis fliewn on the Medals of Emerita, a 
 City in Spatn^ and CafUinum, already men- 
 tioned. 
 
 But all Gates were, I find, not built in that 
 manner, a Proof of which we may fee by 
 the firft Medal, whereon the Gate of Nice 
 
 is
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 13 j 
 
 IS reprefented, and is like that already men- 
 tioned, with only one Door. We may alfo 
 obferve the third Coin in the fame Plate, 
 namely, in that of Gordiamis Tius^ where 
 one of the Gates of Adrianople is likewife 
 reprefented iAAPIANOnOAIlUN. And 
 that we may learn how they were varioufly 
 built, I prefent you with one, in a manner 
 never before obfei'ved, namely with three 
 Doors or Entries, viz, that of Nicojjolis 
 oiEpirus^ on the Coin of Hadrian^ lEPAC 
 NIixonOAEaC. Thofe who have Know- 
 ledge in Antiquity will, on the firft View, 
 perhaps take it for an Arch, and not a Gate \ 
 and they might truly believe itfuch, becaufe 
 of its having three Apertures, if the four Win- 
 dows above, and the two Towers on its 
 fides, did not put it beyond all doubt that 
 it is the Gate of a City. In Serlio we find 
 the ancient Gate oiSpello^ delineated by him, 
 has two fuch Towers alfo, and is acknow- 
 ledged to be antique, tho' in a modern manner 
 refl:ored and repaired. 
 
 That of Emerita fliews likewife two la- 
 teral Towers, for which reafon Spanheim and 
 Tatin believed it to be a Caftle ; and in like 
 manner do they figure oat on Coins the Gates 
 of the Citys of NicopoUs on the T>antwe^ 
 and that of Trajan^ namely, Trajanopolis.^ 
 
 A new Remark occurs naturally here, in 
 order to confirm that all the above-mention 'd 
 Medals do not reprefent in any other way 
 
 K 3 the
 
 134 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 the Pr^torian Quarters. Thofe Quarters had 
 certainly the Gates double, namely, with 
 two Entries. That other Gates befides thofe 
 of the Cif y w^re built, where a vaft number 
 of People were to pafs, is plain by the Re- 
 mains of another double Gate, a great part 
 of which is ftanding till this day in Verona^ 
 and which, we are certain, never had been 
 a Gate of that City. That thofe of the 
 Praetorian Camp were fuch, I learn from that 
 Medal, which, in my Opinion, is the only 
 one that fhews it ; I fay the only one, fince 
 I do not fee it delineated on other Coins, 
 where one would think it would be more 
 proper: fuch as in thofe o{ xhc Allocutions 
 to the Armies^ in the Donatives diftributed 
 by the Emperor to the Soldiers, and where 
 the Title of Tatety or Mater Cajirorum^ is 
 given. The Medal in which it is feen, is 
 that of Claudius y where is a Wall with a 
 double Gate, and the Legend in the middle, 
 Imperatore rectpto ; indicating, that the Sol- 
 diers after the Death o{ Caligula found Clau- 
 dius in the place where he lay hid, whence 
 carrying him to the Camp or military Quar- 
 ters, they proclaimed him Emperor, as we 
 learn from Suetonius and T^to i and indeed, 
 were what is imprefled on the foremention'd 
 Medals Prsetorian Camps, a double Door 
 would certainly appear. 
 
 No Exception, I think, then can be found 
 
 againft our Medal; for the Authenticity of 
 
 3 which,
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 125 
 
 which, oneother Accident did in fome mea- 
 fure contribute. As ibqn as it was found, a 
 certain ingenious Artifl fell to work on a Coin 
 of Conftans^ which had the fame Reverfe, 
 where having raz'd out the old Letters, he 
 found a Method to put in the Word Verona, 
 This Counterfeit I willingly bought myfelf, 
 not becaufe I was cheated, as he who fold it 
 me imagin'd, but that I might, by compar- 
 ing it with my own, make it ferve to con- 
 firm the Genuinenefs of the latter. The Dif 
 ference in the Char afters on them, their Size> 
 Sharpnefs, Incavity, and Form, befides the Al- 
 teration of the Field, appearing very evident 
 to thoie who have but a middling Skill m 
 liich things. By this Incident we may alfb 
 learn, that it was impoflible to make any 
 new Infcription in the Contour of the Medal 
 fo long, but that the very Weight of the 
 Coin would fliew the Cheat; fince in that 
 which was counterfeited, in order to evade 
 this, they have only put in the word Verona^ 
 and in the other part fiiewn, as if theMadal 
 had been Ipoil'd and mutilated. But, be- 
 fides this new Confirmation, the Opinion of 
 the beft Judges of Medals is in Favour of 
 it, who have been allow'd to examine it as 
 long as they pleafed. On it the ancient 
 Stamp IS evident, and the Medal ftands the 
 Tell of the Weight ; for being put into a 
 nice Pair of Gold Scales, when compared 
 with other Medals of the like kind, it was 
 K 4 found
 
 I jd 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 found without the kaft difference^ where- 
 as to take away the old Letters, and like- 
 wife to diminilh the Field, in order to make 
 new, which is the only Fraud that might 
 be fufpcded, tWs could not be done without 
 diminifhing the Weight feniibly. 
 
 I doubt not but lome will wonder, that 
 notwithftanding all thefe Proofs, I Ihould 
 ftill fpeak with a kind of Referve, and not 
 confidently affert what may be drawn from 
 the w^hole : But this proceeds from one of 
 my Maxims, from whence I have never de- 
 parted, nor fhall I ever • and it is this, 
 Not to found an Opinion, or a new Dilcovery, 
 on the Faith of one Medal, tho* none fhould 
 oppofe it J Specially when fuch an Opinion 
 differs from what has been already received 
 by the World. And this made me eftablifh 
 the Plealurc I took in feveral Cities to com- 
 pare the ableft Connoiifeurs in Medals, and 
 fome reckoned infallible, one with another, 
 where I have many times found them diC- 
 agreeing : and likcwile have feen, that 
 there are none, but who fome time or other 
 have erred. For after I underftood how 
 many furprizing and various ways the Falfi- 
 fiers of Medals have freely put in praftice, 
 this is the only Crime that we fee per- 
 mitted to pals with Impunity ; notvvith- 
 ftcinding Thieving, in this Cafe, is often 
 joined with Treachery and a pernicious Sub- 
 yerfion of Hiftory, and of every other mod 
 
 important 
 
 a
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 137 
 
 important Branch of Knowledge. 'Tis not, 
 however, on this account, that I have the 
 leait Inclination to doubt about the Genuine- 
 nefs of every Medal ; but as the Legend of 
 that we have been defcribing is en-~ 
 tirely new, with relped to a City of Italy, 
 ^o I ftiall not regard, nor take any pains a- 
 bout it, unlefs I ftiould happen to pubtifh it 
 at another Opportunity. It fhall, however, 
 be in my own hands, and alv/ays offered 
 to the Examination of the Curious ; Signor 
 ArrigGne^ the Abbot, having made me a Pre- 
 fent thereof, as 'tis hisCuftom to be liberal to 
 his Friends. 
 
 But let us at length put an end to this 
 Digreflion, if we will call it lb, fince it is 
 intended to make us know that we ought 
 not on account of the Roundnefs of Build- 
 ings in Monuments of Antiquity, to conclude 
 or imagine, that they are the Remains of 
 Amphitheatres, efpecially that vv hich is repre- 
 fented on the foremention'd Medals. Befides, 
 for the better illuftrating the Hiftory of the 
 Veronefe Arena, it was neT:effary to be par- 
 ticular therein, in order to come at the true 
 Meaning of what is reprelented on the fore- 
 faid Coin of the Emperor Maximian^ lince 
 it is the current Opinion of many, that that 
 Building w^as ereded in the Reigns of both 
 the Maximians, Nor would fome be want- 
 ing, who [by Reckoning the Impreffion on the 
 Medal a reprefentation of an Amphitheatre,^ 
 might have been ftill confirmed in that falfe 
 Opinion. CHAP.
 
 I^S 0/Am PHI THEATRES. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Amphitheatres out of Rome, of which 
 till this day evident Remains do 
 fubfijl. 
 
 TH E Cities which, befides Rome^ 
 have, [according to univerlal Obler- 
 vation and Belief, handed down to us for 
 Ages,3 till this day famous Remains of 
 Arenas in them, are reduced to four, 
 namely, Verona^ Captiay Tola and Nimes : 
 Yet what Ihould we fay, if I fliould ex- 
 cept againft fome of thefe few ? And yet 
 it muft be fo, for when I took the pains to go 
 mykliioT ola^ I difcovered evidently, that the 
 ancient Building there was nothing elfe but a 
 magnificent Theatre; which Particular, I 
 fliall clearly prove in Book the fecond, where 
 it fhall be defcribed. If I was to give credit 
 to certain Marks, and fome particular Ob- 
 fervations communicated to me about that 
 of Nimes^ by a Perfon who had been fome 
 days in that City, I fliould incline to think 
 it no Amphitheatre at all : For in effed it ap- 
 pears to have only confifted of two Stories, and 
 has no Numbers engraven on the Arches ; and, 
 as defcrib'd in the ' Antiquities explain d^ it 
 has no Windows in the higher part of the 
 
 Build-
 
 of Amphithea'Tres. 159 
 
 Building : and F^thcxMontfaucon himfelf con- 
 feffes, that it differs from other Amphitheatres, 
 and has Doors inftead of Stairs ; but as I have 
 not feen it, I fhall therefore not prefume to 
 affirm any thing about it, but leave it at 
 prefent, and that of Tola too : which laft 
 was a Theatre very different from the com- 
 mon Sort, with regard to its Architefture ; 
 and more fumptuous than the others, having 
 the external Circuit like that of an A^nphi- 
 theatre. But as I have by Examination found, 
 how very rare Amphitheatres have been, this 
 excites my Curiofity the more to know the 
 Hiftory of thofe abovementioned, efpecially 
 that of Veronaj which, next to the Amphi- 
 theatre of Rome J is the largeft of any, and 
 of which we have undertaken to treat in 
 particular : but as bad Fortune would have 
 it, no very certain account can well be learned 
 of either that or the other ; nor can weprecifely 
 afcertain when or by whom they were made, 
 there being neither Writers nor Monuments 
 of Antiquity, which give us light therein, 
 or that mention any thing about them, un- 
 lefs we except that of Capua, becaufe of the 
 Fragment of an Infcription publifhed laft Year 
 about it. That we find no account of them 
 in antient Hiftorians, is not to be wondefdat, 
 fince they took no care about what was 
 done in the Mmkipia 5 we ought rather to 
 wonder, that the large Infcription [which, 
 according to the common Ufage, was placed 
 
 on
 
 140 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 on the Front of Amphitheatres, above the 
 principal Entry^ has not been found, nor that 
 of Rome^ or the others ever publiftied to the 
 World : And indeed it feems to be a kind of 
 Fatality, that the Infcriptions of the greateft 
 Works of any, fliould for the moft part be 
 loft- tho' there is no doubt but that fuch 
 Infcriptions have formerly been made, 
 Cnce we learn from "• Tlutarch^ that the 
 Theatre made and dedicated by Augujiusy 
 was by his Order, in the Infcription, attri- 
 buted to Marcellus ; and we know from 
 *T>io^ that in another Infcription, upon a 
 fumptuous Portico built likewife by him, 
 he caufed the Name of Livy to be men- 
 tioned. On the Theatre of Tomfey there 
 was at firft, the memory of him, and on 
 . the Scene, that of Tiberius, who had re- 
 built it ; both thefe Infcriptions were replaced 
 by Claudius^ when he reftored the Theatre : 
 and upon this account he himfelf fet up a 
 third, to ferve for a Dedication. 
 
 As to the Infcription placed by Trajan 
 in the Circus Maximus^ after he had re- 
 paired and enlarged it, the Hiftorian men- 
 tions what it contained ^ namely, that he had 
 made theFabrick capable toaccorp aodate the 
 People of Rome, The Ufe of Infcriptions 
 was common in publick Edlnces, not only 
 when firft built, but when repaired. So 
 
 * Tint, in M^.rs.
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 141 
 
 AugujhiSy in the ^ Lapis AncyramtSy ex- 
 prefled it as a Singularity, that he had made 
 and repaired feveral Works without placing 
 any Infcription, with his Name thereon. And 
 Sfartianus oblerved with wonder, that Se-- 
 verus^ when he repaired the publick Edi- 
 fices, fcarce in any of them did he put his 
 Name, but only left them to preferve the 
 Memory of their firft Builders. One remark 
 we may make here before we proceed, and 
 it is this, That any one of the four Cities 
 above mentioned, may not only boaft of their 
 Amphitheatres or Theatres, with the exter- 
 nal Circuit, like that of Amphitheatres, 
 but alfo of fuch other Remains of ancient 
 Magnificence and Grandeur, as greatly ex* 
 ceed that of other Cities : Ours of VeronUy 
 perhaps abounds therein more than any of 
 the others, Capua has the Remains of an 
 Arch not far from the Amphitheatre, and 
 near the Tower of St. Erafmtish as the 
 Canon Mazockio avers, there are the Veftiges 
 of a Theatre alfo. As to that of Nimes in 
 France^ 'tis fufficient to fee Serlio^s Epiftle 
 to Francis the Firft, prefixed to his third 
 Book. This Author affirms, that at that 
 time there was an Arch emich'd with Orna- 
 ments, a Corinthian Temple, a magnificent 
 Aqtieduli of three Orders, one above the 
 other. ^ Caufabon calls it a Bridge, and 
 
 3 Gr. pag, 251. Sim nlU Jnfcri^tions Nominh MeL\ 
 
 4 Ad S^art. 
 
 . mentions
 
 141 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 mentions the Ruins of- a Palace with three 
 Orders alfo ; and of beautiful Structure with 
 a Cupola at the top, fupported with ten 
 fluted Pillars of the Corinthian Order ; this 
 laft may perhaps have been the Bafilica of 
 "FlotinUy built at Nimes by order of Ha- 
 driany and mentioned by Spartianus^ to have 
 been of admirable JVorkmanfhip, That it 
 had the refemblance of a Temple, the Build- 
 ing it ielf inclines us to believe. * Xiphiline 
 alio mentions it by that Name ; near it were 
 two Oftangular Turrets, which ftiews us 
 how the Ancients fortify *d. Befides, there 
 were alio feveral Statues, and Inlcriptions 
 in abundance. Talladio has been pleafed 
 alio to give us a minute Defcription of two 
 other ancient Temples in Nimes. What re- 
 gards Tola, ftiall be mentioned in another 
 Place; it being fufficient here to fay, that 
 till this Day, not only one, but feveral Re- 
 mains of ancient Buildings are fubfifting there, 
 of fuch Beauty and lb well preferved, that 
 fcarcely can their Elegancy be conceived, 
 but by thofe who have feen them. 
 
 From thofe Ruins, with fuch eloquent 
 Infcriptions, we learn, that which cannot 
 be well comprehended from thole few en- 
 tirely Jejune Writers of the Things out of 
 Rome-y namely, that thofe Cities, in the firft 
 Ages of the Empire, were famous and great, 
 lince in every one of them [the better to e- 
 
 * In mdr. 
 
 vince
 
 (^Amphitheatres. 14.5 
 
 Vince that they were' at that time more mag- 
 nificent thaen many others, which afterwards 
 exceeded them] we find that befides the 
 Amphitheatre, there was a great number of 
 other noble Remains of fumptuous Buildings. 
 How eafy is it then to fee in what manner 
 modern Writers are deceived, who, full of 
 modern Ideas, have their Eyes fo dazzled, 
 that they confound the Syftem of the Times 
 of the Empire after Confiantine^ with the 
 higher Ages; not efteeming any antientCity 
 as great, unlefs it made a confiderable Fi- 
 gure in the latter Times? But that thofe 
 Cities, in the earlier Ages, were by far greater 
 than many of the others, which afterwards 
 were much enlarged, and that the Splendor 
 of the latter began not until the magnificent 
 Edifices of the Tagans were out of ufe ; 
 the above-mention'd Marbles are irrefraga- 
 ble Proofs : For I would gladly know, 
 by what occult Caufe could fo many Re- 
 mains of famous Buildings have been pre- 
 lerved in the Cities which had Amphithea- 
 tres? infomuch that therein they exceed all 
 the others, Rome excepted ; and yet no fuch 
 Monuments of Antiquity appear prefer ved 
 in thofe other Cities, w^hich, according to 
 the vulgar Opinion, [for fo I muft call it] 
 had formerly publick Strudures, they fay, 
 both more vaft, and in greater abundance, 
 than thofe we have been fpeaking about? 
 What is Nimes^ ^^^j^^Ltffius^ in com pa- 
 
 t Cap. S' '^ ^"^^^^
 
 144 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 rifon of the other great Cities of France ? 
 To this I anfvver, If Nhnes was lb fmall 
 a Town, why was it dittinguiilied by its 
 Coins above all the other Cities of Gaul in 
 Attgujiiis's Time ? That moft beautiful Me- 
 dal, tho' a common one, whereon is the 
 Head of that Emperor and Agrtjjpina^ is 
 marked with the Attribute of a Colony. 
 '^Tnlianusxdcxs to llich another in the fame 
 Age : Befides, why did they give Nimes 
 the Title oi Colonia Atigufia? And why, 
 among \o many other Cities, did ^ Hadrian 
 make choice of it for building a magnificent 
 Bafilica to Tlotina ? Why likewile in the 
 lower Ages was one of the three Mints of 
 france^Ycded in Nimes, which, as we find 
 in the Notitia Imperii^ had its particular 
 Superintendent? 'Twould be fuperfluous to 
 mention what Verofia and Capua have been 
 in former Ages. In what condition the firll 
 was in the time of Angufius^ is clearly Ihewn 
 by a PafTage of Strabo^ which makes it at 
 that time equal to Milaii ; and calls the o- 
 ther Towns, like thole of Mantua and Bref- 
 eta in its Neighbourhood, tho' large in 
 thcmfelves, but inconfiderable Places in com- 
 parilbn of Verona, Some Perlbns of un- 
 doubted Veracity have often told me, that 
 they have ieen the Remains of an Amphi- 
 theatre on theOutfide o{ hrejus in Trovence : 
 That I own might perhaps have been, and 
 
 ' Gr. 323. f. s Spar^. In Had. 
 
 with
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 145 
 
 livith more certainty too than any other they 
 can boaft of in France. Serlio likewile 
 mentions it, and fpeafcs of the Remains of 
 another Roman Bnilding there refembling a 
 Palace. ^ ^Uny^ fpeakingof thofe Parts of 
 Gaul J fays, they looked liker Italy continued, 
 than a Province ; befides, the maritime City 
 there was called, Colonia Julia^ and Colo- 
 nia Illujlris, in which Romans conftantly 
 refided, and from whence Auguftus fent 
 the Ships called Roftrat£y taken in the Bat- 
 tle of A£iium \ and there, as we learn from 
 ' ° Tacitus y did an armed Fleet lie, in the 
 lame manner as in MeJJlna and Ravenna, 
 
 If we intirely admit of the Supplement 
 and Interpretation given to an Infcription late- 
 ly dug up near the Amphitheatre of Capua 
 [^excepting that of Rome\ it is the only one 
 we know which indicates the Perlbn by 
 whom, and the time when it was erefted > 
 namely, of having been built by the Commu- 
 nity of the Colony of Capua^ a little after that 
 oiTitus was repaired and adorned by the Em- 
 peror Hadrian, and dedicated by Antonimis 
 Tius, The truth is, the Canon Mazochio 
 has ftiewn himfelf a Perfon of Genius and 
 Erudition, both in fupplying the Defers of 
 the Infcription, and in explaining its Mean- 
 r ing: nor is any thing in that Supplement 
 I but may be received with Approbation ; 
 only he ufcs the Word Imagines^ where, 
 
 5 2:. 5, c. Af. It film verius quarf) Frovincia, ^^ Ar»n. l.^- 
 
 L I
 
 ii[6 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 I think, another would fuit better with the 
 Paffage. There was not methinks any other 
 City which could vie fo well with that of 
 Romey with regard to its wonderful Pile of 
 the Amphitheatre of TtttiSy as CapUdy in 
 its Neighbourhood ; either on account of 
 the Greatnefs and Wealth of that City, or 
 the Defire and Delight its Inhaibtants had, 
 and that even of old, for Gladiatory Shews. 
 Nor indeed can we think on any Em- 
 peror which more probably reftored and 
 ornamented it than Hadrian \ fince none 
 erefted lb many Buildings out of Rome as 
 he, inlbmuch that Spartian fpeaks as if he 
 had built in every City. Nor ought we to 
 regard its having been dedicated by his Suc- 
 celTor, and not by him ; fince 'tis probable 
 he might have only begun the repairing of 
 it in his latter Days. The Pillars which in the 
 Infcription are faid to have been added, would 
 appear, I own, rather to agree to the De- 
 fcription of a Theatre than an Amphitheatre : 
 But as to this it has been very well adverted 
 to, that they might have been placed in the 
 Antiporta or Lodge ; nor does it alter the 
 cafe very much, if we imagine, that the In- 
 fcription was made at the time of its Dedi- 
 cation, fince after confiderable Reparations, 
 'twas ufual, both to place freili Infcriptions 
 on fuch Buildings, and often to dedicate them 
 anew, in order that they might be put to 
 ule j as we learn from T>iOy in that Place 
 
 where
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 147 
 
 where we were Ipeaking of the Theatre of 
 Tompey : but in this is marked both its firft 
 Eredion, by the People of Cafua, and per- 
 haps by thefe Words, A SOLO FEGIT, 
 which expreifed, in the Lapidary Stile, that 
 it was built from its very Foundation : like- 
 wife in it is mentioned, its being reitored, 
 and the Ornaments added thereto, and its new 
 Dedication. 
 
 As to the Edifice at Tola and NimeSy 
 we have no manner of hint about either of 
 them in antient Monuments or Writers: 
 tho' the Guftom which Hadrian had to 
 build every where, particularly at NmeSy 
 furnifhes us with a Conjedure, that the Fa- 
 brick at the latter might have been ereded 
 by him. 'Rwtzs Spar tiamtSy in his Life, men- 
 tions the Bajilica built by him in this Place, 
 why then did he not fpeak of the Amphi- 
 theatre, which was a much greater Work ? 
 Capttolinus^ in the Beginning of the Life 
 of Antoninus Tius^ affirms, that Emperor 
 derived his Origin from the faid City ; for 
 which realbn Cafaubon imagined, that he 
 built the Arena there; but if fo great a 
 Work had been performed by an Emperor, 
 why is the Htftoria Atigufia f?lent therein ? 
 and the rather, fincc Sp art i anus has not 
 negleded to mention another Edifice eredcd 
 at Nimes by another Emperor : But let us, 
 at length, come to that of Verona. 
 
 L z CHAR
 
 148 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 CHAP. XIIL 
 
 An Ejfay on the Age and Builder 
 of the Veronefe Arena. 
 
 WITH regard to the Time in which 
 we may believe our Arena at Ve- 
 rona was built, the Writers are divided be- 
 tween two Opinions. Some have imagined 
 it the Work of Atigufttis i of thefe was 
 Torello Sarianay who was perfuaded there- 
 in from having read fuch an Account in 
 an ancient Chronica^ and in the Itinerary 
 oiCyriacus Anconitanus, v/ho lived in the 
 fifteenth Age 5 likev/ife becaufe Suetonius 
 writes, that Augtiftus adorned Italy with 
 Buildings. ' Father Mabillon was alfo of 
 this Opinion : Others have believed it the 
 Work of Maximian y among the firft of fuch 
 was ^ SigoniiiSy in his Book de Imperio Oc^ 
 cide?itali 'y who was induced to imagine it 
 fo, only becaufe the Builder thereof was un- 
 known 'y and by erroneoufly fuppofing, that 
 Maximian erected a Palace at Brefcia and 
 another in Aquileia : and this piece of Cre- 
 dulity was received by many, and even re- 
 fer 'd to by Lydiat^ in his chronological Se- 
 ries. But as both thefe Conjectures do not 
 ftand on any foiid Foundation, Im cf opi- 
 
 ' It. Itaf. p. If. f Liif. I. 
 
 nion.
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 149 
 
 nion, that the one makes its JEr^, too early, 
 the other too late. The Architefture thereof 
 might, I own, much eafier incline us to believe 
 it to have been built in the time oi jitigtifttts 
 than Maximian ; the whole appearing to 
 have been rather the Work of the Ages 
 wherein Elegancy in the Arts v/as prevalent, 
 than when they were not : And indeed, the 
 Tufcan Order in all the Stories thereof, ieems 
 to indicate its Antiquity. Belides, Auguftus 
 having brought Water into BrefciUy as ap- 
 pears by an Infcription, ihevvs that he pro- 
 moted the Works in thofe Parts where the 
 Palace of Maximian in Brefcia and Aqui- 
 leia are meerly fuppofed to have been ; 
 fince the Panegyrift quoted by Sigoniiis 
 alone, Ipeaks not of any thing elle but 
 of a Pifture, placed by - Maximian in the 
 Palace of Aquileia, Yet for all this, I can- 
 not be induced to believe, that an Amphi- 
 theatre wholly of Stone, and of fuch Archi- 
 tedure, was ever built in any Colony in 
 Auguftus\ time, before any fuch Fabric had 
 been feen in Rome^ and before that of Titus 
 (an Original for the others to copy from) 
 was ereded. It feems alfo credible, that 
 this would, on fome Occafion or other, have 
 been mentioned by '^Uny^ who Ipeaks of 
 Pidures and things of lefs confequence than 
 it, to have been in feveral places of bis na- 
 tive Country. LipfiuSy methinks, derides 
 
 3 Infc. Fan, 
 
 L 3 a
 
 150 Of Amphitheatre s. 
 
 the Realcns alledg d by the good Sariana^ 
 a little too feverely, forjudging it erefted by 
 Av.o-iifliis : And, indeed, from the fame Page 
 in L'lpfMS, one may learn a Caution to over- 
 look with Humanity, and to pardon mutually 
 the Minakes of others : Since, as great a 
 Genius as he was, he himfelf as well as Sari- 
 anay errcneouily cites theEpiftle of 4 Tlmy.^iS 
 if addrefsd to Maximus AfncanuSy becaufe 
 he had read vellem Africane qms coemeraSy 
 when it is evident that it fhould be read 
 Africanae^ as alluding to the Panthers of 
 Africa, Celitis writing to ^ Cicero^ Ipeaks 
 of thofe Animals of Africa brought there, 
 and of ten being given to be uled in the 
 Games 5 lb that it appears, from what is faid 
 before, that he fpeaks of Panthers : as does 
 ^ Livy^ and the other "^ Tliny^ ^ Suetonius 
 and others. 
 
 Befides the Opinion, that the Amphi- 
 theatre was built by Maximian, feemsvery 
 inc?onfiftent v/ith the Circumftances of Affairs 
 at that time. The Empire was then in con- 
 fufion, Italy itfelf Ibrely afflided, and the 
 Cities there, efpecially thofe like Verona^ 
 fituated on the Frontiers, in dread of the 
 Incurfions threatned and begun by the Bar- 
 barians. Arts, befides, were then in great 
 Decay • and the ancient Ideas of the opprels'd 
 Mtitiictpa quite out of mind. Moreover, the 
 
 4 Lib. 6. Ep.ult. 
 
 ! Fan?, l.b. Epifr.S. ^ p. « Liv. l,^^. 
 
 7 fl. I. 8. ca^\ 17. 8 Suet, cal.iS. ch.ii, 
 
 3 Chrl-
 
 O/' Amphitheatres. 151 
 
 Chriftian Religion, which then was difTufed 
 every where, and not long after triumphant, 
 would fcarcely have allowed People to have 
 effected a Work like that, which fprung 
 from the Religion of the Pagans ; and the 
 rather, fince in the Amphitheatres had 
 been aded a conftant Scene of Cruelty, 
 having become places for Martyrdom. But 
 what need we fay any more on this head ? 
 We have, I think, a very ilire Proof, that 
 before Maximine^ namely, in Galliemtss 
 time, not only was our Arena already built, 
 but began to be in decay. A Confirmation 
 of this appears in the many Pieces of the an- 
 cient Walls of Verona^ ereded in the time 
 of Gallienus s fince in them I have obierv'd 
 Stones, not only of the Quality, Colour, 
 and Form w^ith thofe of the Amphitheatre, 
 but are known by certain Marks, to have 
 been formerly belonging to the external Cir- 
 cuit of that Strudure there. ^ Sariana af- 
 fords a notable Confirmation of this, where 
 he avers, that he had leen fome of thofe 
 Stones with the Numbers which had been 
 engraven on the Key-Stones of all the lower 
 Arches. Nor is there any thing that renders 
 it in the leaft incredible, that the exterior 
 part of that Fabric began ^o loon to be ruinous. 
 And, indeed, whether the Foundation was 
 ill laid, or was defedive on account of the 
 Piace, or {o on account of its being a Building 
 
 9 p. 23. In ipfis muris nonnulU Am^hithcani t.ibnU mm 
 numerisy &c. £, ^ all
 
 1 51 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 all arch'd from top to bottom, where a 
 great part was confequently empty , as a certain 
 Architeft afferts. Be that as it will, it is 
 certain, that the Amphitheatre oi Catania^ 
 in the time of Theodoric^ was likewife, for 
 the moll part, fallen down ; and Cafflodorus 
 aflfures us, that the Stones thereof were made 
 ufe of to repair the Walls there, and yet the 
 Building was not demolifhed by Earthquakes, 
 but ' ^ by Time : From whence, at leaft, it 
 appears, that they were ancient Buildings, 
 notwithftanding they did not for many Ages 
 remain intire. Befides, the Theatre oiTompeyy 
 in the time of Theodoric, feem'd alio incli- 
 ning towards Ruin, and liable to fall ' ' fud- 
 denly, had they not found a Means to keep 
 it up with large Supports or ButtrefTes and 
 Pilailers. 
 
 The Defire I myfelf had of dilcovering 
 with Certainty, the precife time when, and 
 by whom, the Amphitheatre was made, ex- 
 cited me to dig in the Places where I had 
 the greateft Chance for finding Infcriptions 5 
 and tho' I have not been fo happy as to fuc- 
 ceed therein, yet I met with two halfs of 
 Letters, which joined to a larger piece of 
 Stone, with an Infcription, dug up out of 
 the Well, in the middle made out . S . Con. 
 That thefe Charaders belonged to thelnfcrip- 
 tion which had been formerly placed in the 
 
 ^o Var. l.-i,. C.49. Longa vetuftate colhpfa. 
 
 ** Ca/f. Viir. /,4,. c.^i, Sive mafculis pilk contineri potuerit. 
 
 Front
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 15^ 
 
 Front of the Amphitheatre, is probable on 
 account of their unufiial Size, for the O is 
 no lefs than eleven Inches in Diameter, cor- 
 relpondent with the others. But from this I 
 fliall not pretend even to give my Guelfes, 
 nor affert that they mull be underftood iSe- 
 natus Confulto^ as is commonly underftood 
 by S, C One thing I may however venture 
 to fay, that the Form and Beauty of thole 
 Letters indicate them engraven in an Age 
 when Arts flourilh'd, and not in latter times. 
 I don't fpeak of that fo foolilhly falfify'd 
 Infcription, which makes our Amphitheatre 
 the work of Flammms a Conful, and which 
 Caroto and Leandro Alberti publifh'd, as 
 if ftill exifting at Lucca^ a place where it 
 never had been. And the truth is, in the 
 feveral Books where the Impofcure has ap- 
 peared, it has been but very indifferently 
 received by the Learned. 
 
 Hadrians peculiar Cuftom of erecting Fa- 
 bricks out of Rome^ might incline us to have 
 an eye on him as the Builder; but that 
 Epiftle of Tliny the Younger, lately quoted, 
 confirms us in the Belief, that our Amphi- 
 theatre was before that Emperor's time ; yet 
 as we cannot wellfuppofe it anterior to that 
 of Tittis^ the whole brings us very near the 
 true time of its Ereftion. 
 
 The forefaid Letter of Tltny, who is be- 
 lieved to have died in the latter part of Tr^- 
 jan^ Reign, gives us to undcrftand, that by 
 
 the
 
 I 54 0/ A M P H I TH E A TR E S. 
 
 the Liberality of a certain great Man, called 
 Maximus, a folemn Amphitheatrical Shew 
 was at that time celebrated in Verona : this 
 he did both by way of Honour to the Me- 
 mory of his deceaied Spoufe, a Native of 
 that Country, and alfo to gratify the People 
 oi Verona^ by whom he was lov'd and e- 
 fteem'd, as indeed they were by him, as 
 Tliny informs us. Nay, the fame Tliny^ as 
 he was a Veronefe by Adoption, when he 
 Ipeaks of the Inhabitants there, he calls them, 
 l"- our o'xn Teople of Ycronz. 
 
 A vaft number of Panthers were prepared for 
 the forementioned Shew,tho' becaufe of aStorm 
 which happen'd at Sea in their Paffage, they 
 arriv'd not from Africa in time. Combats of fo 
 many, and lb different kinds of Beafts, in- 
 dicate as if there were fix'd Aren^ in Italy 
 at that time. In the Shews of Curio ^ in thofe 
 alio of the Fidentines^ of Cecinna and Va- 
 lens^ mentioned by Tiiny and Tacitus^ all 
 which were exhibited in Amphitheatres of 
 Wood; we have accounts, that in thefe 
 Shews there were Gladiators, but no Wild- 
 Beafts. 'Tis therefore not incongruous to fup- 
 pofe this Pile erected in the time oi^omi- 
 tian and Nerva^ or the lateft time we can 
 think of, to have been in the firft years of 
 Trajan^ and to believe that, without delay- 
 ing further, by the faid Building they emu- 
 
 ?^ Gldd'morum Mmns Veronenfi^us, Kojiris, C'c. 
 
 lated
 
 of Amphitheatres. 155 
 
 lated that of Rome, which great Example 
 they had to copy from. 
 
 'Tis commonly believed, that this Work 
 was carried on at the Expence of Ibme Em- 
 peror or Roman Governor : But if fuch a 
 magnificent Amphitheatre bad been ereded 
 by any Emperor, 'tis not to be imagined the 
 Writers of their Lives would have negleded 
 to have mentioned it. Suetonius was not 
 filent about the Walls and Temples in 
 ^5 Syracufej repaired by Caligula':, and of 
 the Royal Palace of TolycrateSy and the 
 Temple of Apollo^ which that Emperor had 
 a mind to replace in Miletus and Samos. 
 Nor did Lampridius negleft to Ipeak of 
 the Bafilica in NimeSy or of the Temple 
 and Altar made by Hadrian in Athens. 
 Whatever Emperor he was who may have 
 erefted fo noble a Fabrick, he would not, 
 according to theufage of thofe Times, have 
 neglefted the Honour of its Dedication, nor 
 have Writers omitted to fpeak thereof, fince 
 Suetonius does of the Temple at '^ Nola^ 
 and the Capitol dedicated by Tiberius in 
 Capua. Neither can we imagine our Am^- 
 phitheatre the Work of a Governor, fince 
 there were no Governors at that time in Italy^ 
 that Country having not been then reduced 
 to the form of a Province, for every City 
 governed it felf ; fo it is moft likely that the 
 Republick and People of Verona were the 
 
 '3 Ca^, 2j. 14 Ca^. 40. 
 
 fole
 
 J$6 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 fole Undertakers of this Work , and in the 
 Sequel we fnall Ihew, that a certain Veronefe 
 Citizen built part of the Tortico^ which was 
 join'd to the Place where the Gladiatory 
 Games were exhibited; and for which, he 
 defired to have the Approbation of the Peo- 
 ple, and not of any other. So does the In- 
 Icription already mentioned indicate, that 
 the Amphitheatre of Capua was erected by 
 the Colony there : Such great Works could 
 the Alliance, and the Participations of the 
 Honours of Rome^ render other Cities capa- 
 ble of performing ! The Expence of fuch 
 Works was much leflened, by the great 
 number of Slaves employed therein ; and 
 lifcewife upon account of the plenty of Mar- 
 ble in the Neighbourhood of our City 5 and 
 indeed, if we could come at the defired In- 
 fcription relating to this Fabrick, thole who 
 were the Superintendents, or who prefided 
 at its Erection, would, I doubt not, be 
 known. 
 
 ^ I would, above all, if I could, do due 
 juftice to the Name of the Architect of this 
 ftately Pile, but we juft know as much a- 
 bout ours, as we do of the Amphitheatre of 
 Rome^ One thing I know for certain, that 
 we ftiould not be ignorant about the Archi- 
 teft of either of thefe fuperb Edifices, had 
 they exiikd when 7 liny publifhed his great 
 Work. An old Tradition makes Vitruvius 
 a Veronefe^ but this we Ihall mention on 
 
 another
 
 of Amphitheatres. 157 
 
 another Occafion. That Vitruvius CerdOy 
 another famous Architeft, was of VeronUy 
 is very probable ; and this we conjefture by 
 the Remains of an Arch which we have of 
 his Worfcmanfhip ; and indeed, whether he 
 built our Amphitheatre or not, I ftiall nei«? 
 ther deny nor affirm. The Roman Amphi- 
 theatre was fituated in the Middle of the 
 City, ours on the Outfide of the Walls, tho' 
 very near them, and not far from a Gate; 
 and fo were the others in the Colonies-^ 
 where the antient Space, within the Walls, 
 were but narrow, and the Concourfe of 
 People ib great, they could not admit of 
 fuch a Vacancy in thofe Daj^s, within their 
 Cities, as was requifite for a Pile of fuch 
 great Dimenfions as an Amphitheatre. 
 
 In digging over againft the Gate, which 
 in antient Times was the principal and 
 moll frequented of any, the Foundation of 
 a large Wall was difcovered, m.ade partly of 
 the Stones of the Amphitheatre, with pieces 
 of Pillars, which humour the curved Figure 
 of that Building, and which lecm to have 
 furrounded it in the part where the Slope was. 
 We can believe this to be nothing eife, but that 
 in former times they intended to have fur- 
 rounded the Amphitheatre, from the Place 
 where the firft Wall v/as built, to that of 
 the fecond, in fuch a manner as to comprife 
 it within the City, that fo it might not be 
 expoled, or polfeffion taken of it by the 
 
 Enemy >
 
 158 0/^ Amphitheatre^. 
 
 Enemy i yet we mnft not imagine, that 
 this happened at the repairing of the Walls 
 by GalltentiSy becaufe the Thicknefs of them 
 was very much left than the others; and 
 likewife becaufe the Foundation of thole of 
 Gallienus goes crols-wife, and ftraitens the 
 chief Avenue to the Amphitheatre: from 
 whence we may make a probable Conjec- 
 ture, that the latter were made after the an- 
 cient Cuftom of Amphitheatrical Shews had 
 been laid afide. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Of hifcriptions relating to our 
 Amphitheatre. 
 
 TH E People of Verona made frequent 
 ufe of the Amphitheatre, of which, 
 in its due place, a confiderable Hint will be 
 given from a Stone made hollow by the 
 Ropes of the ' Velarium : I fhall prove it like- 
 wife by three famousStones withlnfcriptionsas 
 yet remaining and placed by me one after 
 another in the publick Academy. The firft 
 relates to one of the Gladiators, called Retia- 
 riiy tho' not very exadly publifhed by Gru- 
 ter and others ; and indeed none have taken 
 notice of its Singularity, in Ihewing the Form 
 of the Weapons of thofc Gladiators. 
 
 I N.B. The Velarium -was the Veil or Curtain nhich covered 
 the Amphitheatre. 
 
 Monu-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 159 
 
 SORETIAli: 
 
 OINVICTO 
 PVGNARVM 
 
 XVIINALE 
 
 m 
 
 XAMRNQVIP 
 VGNAVTVRi 
 
 Monuments like thefe are indeed rare, 
 nor do I know, among the very few of this 
 kind, which have been printed, if there be 
 luch another; 'tis probable there are none, 
 nor are all thofe of the fame kind to be re- 
 ly 'd upon as genuine. 
 
 This Sepulchral Monument is of a Gla- 
 diatorj whofe Name was Generofus, of a 
 lervile Station, 2in Alexandrian by Birth, and 
 of the Retiarian Clafs. The different kinds 
 and ways of the Gladiators were many, and 
 for the moft part diftinguilhed by their Ha- 
 bit, Arms, and different manner of fighting, 
 the variety of which very much contributed 
 to the Diverfion and Delight which People 
 in general had at the Shews. But I fhall 
 not entsr upon a Subjed:, whereon Lipfais 
 
 has
 
 i6o 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 has wrote fo diftinctly; only I fay, thofe 
 kinds of them which are moll celebrated by 
 Writers, were the Secutores and Retiariiy 
 who commonly fought againft one another. 
 There was, as we read in Sariana, an In- 
 fcription in Verona^ about one of the Secu- 
 tores^ who was faid to have fought eight 
 times 5 but as it is now loft and publifh'd 
 incorrecily, I 111 all not take any notice of it 
 here. Commodus boafted to be of this Clais, 
 and among the firft of them, and to have 
 killed a great number of thofe Retiarii. 
 This much we learn from Lampridms^ but 
 Salmajitis writing on this head, could not 
 underftand well what the Secutores were, 
 but only that the Retjarii were lb called 
 from the =- Cafting-Net, wherewith they 
 entered the Field, and which they threw at 
 their Adverfary, to entangle him therein 5 
 which when done, they firuck them with 
 the Fork or elfe the Ponyard, with which 
 they were arm^ed. Lipfms very well ob- 
 ferves, that this Cuftom took its Origine from 
 that famous Aftion of Tittacus^ whofe Life 
 5 Laert'ms wrote ; and Strabo fays, that the 
 faid Tittacus being General of the Mytilenei^ 
 fought in fingle Combat vv'ith the chief Com- 
 mander of the Atheiiians, like a Fifher with 
 a Net, which he threw over and invelop'd 
 his Adverfary, having privately brought it 
 
 ^ facuUim. »Laer. 1. 10. 
 
 3 with
 
 O/" AmphitheatIies. idi 
 
 with him on purpofe, after that he wounded 
 him with a Trident and Knife. 
 
 Whoever then ftiall cbferve particularly 
 how the other Gladiatory Combats repre- 
 fented the Manner which fome Nations had 
 in fighting with one another, or that they 
 alluded to fome Fad, whether hlftorical or 
 fabulous, will not doubt, but that the Idea 
 of that kind of Gladiators was taken from 
 the forelaid Adion of Tittacus. 
 
 Punifliments likewife, as they were inflifted 
 by way of Shew, were ufuaily executed in 
 a fcenical manner, taking often the Argu- 
 ment of the Dramatic Reprefentation, from 
 the name of the Malefaftor. Even when 
 the Games were performed in the Forum^ 
 Strabo relates, that the Sicilian Thief [who 
 ftyled himfelf the Son of ^tna] was made 
 ufe of by way of an Interlude to the Speda- 
 tors : For, after he had been placed upon 
 a Machine reprefenting Mount a^tfia^ it 
 was fo contrived as to tumble down all of 
 a fudden, whereby the Criminal fell preci- 
 pitantly among the Dens of the Wild-Beafts, 
 which appeared as if thefe Animals had been 
 bred in the Mountain, and there was he tore 
 in pieces. Reprefentations of Orpheus and 
 Latiraolus, T^edalusznd Leander, mention'd 
 by Martialy were likewife kept up in the 
 Amphitheatre : Thefe AUufions of the An- 
 cients in the Games, were like to what they 
 had in their mechanical Works 5 where, for 
 
 M the
 
 l6l 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 the moft part, their very Utenfils and com-^ 
 mon Inftruments, were made to reprefent 
 fome ancient Figure. As for the Changes 
 which they had in their Scenes, they were 
 neceffary in their publick Shews, becaufe 
 they lafted the whole day. Some Gladiators 
 there were who fought on horfeback, of 
 thele we fliall treat in another place ; others 
 in Chariots, call'd Effedarii, which either 
 imitated the ancient Orientals or the Bri-- 
 tons \ and that fuch was the Cuftom of theft 
 People, we learn from '' C£far, However, 
 the Satyrift joking, fpoke in the form of 
 * Prophecy, to the Man who Ihould make 
 any foreign King a Captive in War, That 
 the King Arviragus ftiould fall before him 
 from a Britijb Chariot. If we rely on what 
 ^ Jornandes afferts, the word Ejfedus was 
 entirely Britifh, but we find it feveral times 
 mentioned by Cicero, '' Junius Thilargynis 
 on the other hand laid, a certain kind of 
 Vehicle wherein the Gauls fought, was call'd 
 Ejfedus. ^ Cafar caufed Boys to fight at 
 the Games in Chariots. I fliall not mention 
 here the Woods, Caverns and Ships, which 
 were fometimes fliown in the Amphitheatres, 
 nor fliall I fpeak of the Luxury and Pomp 
 ufed therein: Nay, ^ St. Ambrofe in the 
 
 4 ^ell. Gal. lib.i^. 
 
 ^ Jtiv. Sat.^. aut de temone Br'itmno. 
 
 ^ y^^^- S- ^' ^^^s more vulgari Ejfedos vocanp. 
 
 'l Ad Geor. /. 3. f Dio, /. 4-3. S De of. /. 4,. c.21, 
 
 fourth
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 163 
 
 fourth Age, accufed them for Prodigality in 
 fquandring away their Patrimony in Shews ; 
 and even towards the end of the fifth Cen- 
 tury, the Conful Tttrtms Afterius [in the 
 Epigram he wrote on Virgilius MediceuSy 
 publifli'd by Cardinal Noris in Xh^Cenotaphia 
 of Ttfd\ afferts, that great Riches were 
 conllimed in their Games, and confefTes, ' ° that 
 he had facrificed his own Wealth to the 
 Huzza s of the People. 
 
 But to return to the Retiarii*^ they not 
 only fought with the Secutores^ but very 
 often with the Mirmillones^ who were arm'd 
 after the manner of the GaulSy and had the 
 figure of a Fifli on their Helmet, as we learn 
 from '^ Fejius i fo that it fquared very well 
 to have it catch'd in the Net. The Action 
 of a Retiarius's pulling his Adverfary to- 
 wards him, with his Head entangled in the 
 Net, is feen reprefented on a Medal of Gor- 
 dianus Tius^ illuftrated by the Senator Bo- 
 narotti. When they threw the Net with- 
 out Succefs, the Retiaruhcgcin then to handle 
 their Trident. That Ermetes^ mentioned by 
 '"' Martial^ appeared very terrible when he 
 had the Trident in his hand, ^nidentius 
 calls it a Spear with different Points, and fays, 
 that they ftrucfc at the Face of the Adver- 
 
 '*> p. 444. in a^UA^um jams, Cenfus JaSiitra cucurrh, 
 " ynv. Sat.S. Movet ecce tridentem 
 
 Tojiquam vibrata pndentia retia ilexiri* 
 
 Nequkauam ejfudit, 
 
 M z fary^
 
 1^4 0/ Amp H IT HE AT RES. 
 
 fary, which was cohered with the Vizor of 
 the Helmet^ nor is it believed that they 
 trifled with fach Weapons, for on a certain 
 occafion five Retiarli being worfted by the 
 like number of Sectitores^ and on the point 
 of being pierced through by the latter, one 
 of them having laid hold on his Trident, flew 
 every one of thofe who till then had conque- 
 red ; at the Fiercenefs of which Fact, even 
 ' 3 Caligula himfelf,is faid to have been grieved. 
 Their Habit was the Tunica, whence 
 Suetonius calls them here Tunicati^ and the 
 Fork or Trident of Graccus^ with the Tu- 
 nica upon him, is mentioned by ' ^ Juvenal. 
 Thofe Gladiators were fo much in ufe 
 every where, that Arnobius^ when he faw 
 the Reprefentation of a Neptune^ it always 
 put him in mind of a Gladiator. But Tit- 
 tacuSy befides a Trident, had alio a fliort 
 Sword or Ponyard along with him, as * ^Strabo 
 relates; for which reafon, the Retiariiuied 
 it alfo : which Circumftance, tho' doubted 
 of by Ibme, is confirm'd by our Stone, where 
 the Form of both thofe kinds of Weapons 
 is feen. This Sword, or Pocket Dagger, 
 very well ftiews, that they are not of that 
 fort which ' ^ Marcus Aurelius defir'd might 
 be ufed by the Gladiators, namely, without 
 a Point, in order to hinder their butchering 
 one another j but rather of thofe, of which 
 
 ^'^ Suet. Cal. cap. ^o. deflevit 'Ediclo . M Sat.^. 
 
 ^^ Str. /. 13. In r^i:Lini ^ rS ^i<piiJ)c^. '^ Vio, e Xiph, 
 
 the
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. i6^ 
 
 the Hiftorian fpeafcs in the Life of ' "^ Nerva 
 asdoes likewiie ^'^'Vidior^ v/ here Examina- 
 tion was made before they fought, to fee if 
 they were fufficientiy fnarpned. 
 
 '9 TertuUian mentions another kind of 
 thele Weapons, which he calls Spongia ; and 
 when ^° Livy mentions the Armour of the 
 Samnites^ which covered their Breaft, he 
 likewife calls it Spongia-^ 'tis probable that 
 it was a mailed Breaft-plate of Iron, which 
 has fome Relemblance of a Sponge : But the 
 Paffage vaTerttillian indicates,that fome offen- 
 five, not defenlive Weapon, of the Ret/am, 
 wasfo called ; for he fays, " That ke ^ivho 
 '^ Jiands looking on the Bitings of the Bears 
 " afid the Spunges of the Retiarii, might 
 " well think on Mercy.'' I read monerim 
 this Palfage, not moveri, as 'tis printed, and 
 as '-'' Lipfius cites it, becaufe by the latter 
 it is not Senfe. Now, a Breaft-plate would 
 not be lb well oppofed to Pity, nor would 
 it well agree with the biting of the Bears : 
 Befides, the Retiarii iow^t in their Tunica, 
 and without Armour, as has been faid ; and 
 without hiding their Forehead under their 
 Helmet, as we read in ^* Juvenal \ There- 
 fore 'tis probable, that that Name was either 
 given to the Net or the Trident, or the Knife. 
 
 »9 DeSpeSi. cap. i. f, 
 
 2-0 Li^. 9. Spongia. peciori integumentum, 
 
 ai Sat. S.er. I. i.e. 3. " 5/»r.8, 
 
 Ms ft
 
 l66 (y Amphitheatres. 
 
 It might, by a certain kind of Refemblance, 
 have been given to the Net; and perhaps 
 to the Ihort Sword, becaufe its Handle or 
 Shaft was perforated and wrought in fome 
 way like a Spunge. Some are inclined to 
 believe this, by that Motto of Auguftus, 
 mentioned by ^s Suetonius^ " That his Ajax 
 " was permitted to fall upon his Sponge!^ 
 This was was a Tragedy begun by that Em- 
 peror, which not fucceeding to his mind, he 
 deftroy'd and canceird, for which ufe the 
 Spongia ferv'd among the Ancients. But 
 this would have been but a very poor kind of 
 a Jeft in AuguftuSj if we underftand it fimply, 
 as Cafaiibon and all the others have it, and 
 if that word had not a double meaning ; there 
 being no Affinity between Ajax the Hero 
 and an Inftrument for effacing, and by which, 
 that Saying might acquire fome Grace. I 
 think we may infer with certainty, that fom.e 
 Weapon or other with a Point, had the 
 Name of Spongia given it \ by which we 
 may underftand, that the Tragedy had fuch 
 an ending as Ajax himfelf, who was deftroy'd 
 by falling upon a Sword. But to finifli what 
 we have to fay on the fubjed of our Gla- 
 diator, he having fought twenty-feven times, 
 ftews the frequency of thofe Games in Ve- 
 ronal and 'tis probable he refided there, 
 and was dedicated to that Amphitheatre j 
 
 %\ Cap.i6. jijacemfuum infiongmm incHbmffe. 
 
 tho'
 
 (^Amphitheatres- 167 
 
 tho' I cannot deny, but that he might have 
 fought as many as that, in one day. 
 
 This Stone might have afforded us fome 
 other curious and rare Difcovery, had it not 
 been broke off, for it appears, that towards 
 the end, it began [where Gruter y^xy wrongly 
 put VI. i2] to make mention of fome occa- 
 lion or other, on which the Gladiator had 
 fought courageoufly. 
 
 To find a genuine Monument of Antiquity 
 relating to Huntings exhibited out of Rome^ 
 is much more rare than any about Gladiators. 
 We have, a little before this, feen a fine 
 Teftimony thereof in T^liny the Younger, 
 with regard to our Amphitheatre. There is 
 the remembrance of another Hunting remain- 
 ing in the following Infcription, which is 
 engraved in very fine Letters, upon a great 
 Bafis of red Marble of our Country, the 
 breadth of which is greater than its height. 
 The fame words are feen on both fides, which 
 ftiews that in ancient times it had been fet 
 up in a place which fronted two Ways. 
 
 NOMINE 
 
 Q, DOMITII • ALPINI 
 
 LICINA • MATER 
 
 SIGNUM • DIANAE • ET • VENA 
 
 TIONEM 
 
 ET • SALIENTES. T.F.I. 
 
 M 4 This
 
 l68 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 This good Woman, following the Inftind 
 of her own Piety, left it [according to the 
 fantaflical Religion of thofe times] in her 
 Will, ihat they ftiould celebrate a Hunting 
 of Wiid-Beafts. Befides this, ftie order'd a 
 Statue of ''Diana to be made. To Dianay 
 the Governefs of all kinds of Huntings were 
 fuch Shews often confecrated, but not Am- 
 phitheatres, as fome believe. In what Situa- 
 tion that Statue flood, cannot be well guelTed, 
 yet furely not in the middle of the Amphi- 
 theatre, as others have imagined. Befides, 
 this Lady order'd that Salientes fhould be 
 made : No where elfe have we mention of 
 thele Salientes^ as relating to an Amphi- 
 theatre. This word is generally underftood 
 for Pipes and Conduits for conveying Water 5 
 yet here we m.ay alfo fulped, that it means 
 thofe hidden Channels or Pipes, by which 
 with wonderful Artifice [as it is twice men- 
 tion'd by '■'^Seneca'] they caufed odoriferous 
 Liquor to fpring up from the bottom to the 
 top of the Amphitheatre, which then jetted 
 and fpread itfelf in the Air. like a very fmall 
 Shower of Rain. Thofe Effufions wxre cal- 
 led Sparjiones \ and it appears by the other 
 * Seneca^ in the Controverfies, that there 
 were fome, who talking rhetorically, calfd 
 them, Odoriferous Showers. 
 
 One
 
 of Amphitheatres, idp 
 
 One may gather from this place, thatfuch 
 Channels were com monlyunderftood by the 
 Name of Stphones : Hence it is, that in our 
 Stone I underftand by the Word Salientes^ 
 rather what we now call Fountains, which 
 were extremely requifite to be near the 
 Amphitheatre; and fuch is that Met a be- 
 lieved to haye been, which we fee on Me- 
 dals, clofe by the Colifeo. And indeed I am of 
 Opinion, from that Z/^2/^m Word, thatofiV/^r- 
 gente has been introduced into our Language, 
 tho' it is ufed in a meaning fomewhat dif- 
 ferent ; and, I think, I underftand that Word 
 as meaning Fountain, even in Writers : par- 
 ticularly in "-^ Cicero^ who mentions the Fifli- 
 Ponds, and the Salientes i and ^^ Tlinyy 
 where he fays, that Agrippa made a great 
 number of Lakes for the convenience of the 
 Publick, and a Hundred and five Salientes : 
 and alfoin*^ Front inus, where he confirms, 
 that Agrippa furni^ed the City with the 
 Waters Salientes : and when he remarks 
 whence they took the Waters ; namely, that 
 they were fupplied ky the ptiblick Waters 
 Salientes: ^xA"-^ Ulpianus^ where he names 
 the Cocks of the Ciftern, which were fixed 
 to the Salientes, 
 
 Of all thefe things our Licinia [whom 
 we muft believe to have been a Lady of note, 
 fince ihe was able to defray the Charge of 
 
 *^ Ypkm. l.^. 17. a6 L. j(j. f,ij, 2-7 Deui^u^d. art. 10; 
 
 an
 
 lyo 0/^ Amphitheatres, 
 
 an Amphitheatrical Hunting] ordered they 
 ftiould be exhibited in honour of her Son, 
 and the Game celebrated in his Name, as if 
 he had been at the expence thereof. So 
 we find in ^5 'T)io^ ihdit Augtijlus exhibited 
 Games in the Name of his Sons, and of his 
 Nephews alfo ; as we learn from the '^^ Lapis 
 Ancyranus. We read alfo in s^ Tacitus y 
 that T>rHjius in his own Name, and that 
 of his BvothexGermanicus, celebrated Games. 
 But the daily and continued ufe of fuch 
 Shews in Verona^ is much more confirmed 
 by the third Infcription, which gives us to 
 underftand, that in that Place there was a 
 Ludiis, as the LaSins named it ; that is, a 
 Seminary or School, if we may fo call it, of 
 thofe who were trained up for the Amphi- 
 theatre. This is the Meaning of the Word 
 ufed in Infcriptions.and in this fenfe ^^"-Fabretti 
 fays, it was underftood in feveral Laws, which 
 fpeak of condemning People ad Ludum ; but 
 in them we muft underftand it of the Shews, 
 not of the Gladiators only, as ' ^ Gotofredus 
 explains, but indeed more particularly of that 
 ofBeafts. Several of fuch Games, m Rome^ 
 are mentioned on Infcriptions, ^ndhy Tublius 
 Vi^or'^ and it is very rare to find them 
 fpoke of any v/here out of Rome. In Capua 
 they are found, and in Ravenna^ as we have 
 
 ^9 L. 5-4. Tw r/^" miNjv hvo.unrt. 3° Grut. ^ 232. Meo 
 nofmne, nut filiornm meorumy c^ ne^otum. *>^ An. I. i, 
 ■ "' 34 infc, p. 298. S3 c. Th. ad 1. 8. 4e Vosn. 
 
 It
 
 of Amphitheatres. 171 
 
 it in defar and Strabo\ and the former had 
 a Nurfery of thofe Gladiators, in both thefe 
 Cities. A great 'number of them even in the 
 time of - '^ T)tdms Juliamis^ lived in Capua^ 
 ^becaufe it was furniftied with a large Am- 
 phitheatre : but that which is moft obferva- 
 ble in our Infcription, is the hint that there 
 were many of thole Ludi in Verona^ fince 
 that is diftinguiftied, of which mention is 
 made by the Name of Ludus Tublicus.^ 
 But behold the Stone is deficient in its very 
 Beginning. 
 
 LVCIL • IVSTINVS 
 
 EQVO PVBLICO 
 
 HONORIB. OMNIB. 
 
 IN MVNICIPIO • FVNCTVS 
 
 IDEM IN PORTICV. QVAE 
 
 DVCIT • AT • LVD VM • PVBLICVM. 
 
 COLVMN. IIII. CVM SVP3RFG 
 
 IE • STATVRA • PIGTVRA 
 VOLENTE. POPVLO. DEDIT. 
 
 At the Back of the fame Infcription : 
 
 riPA 
 
 KAI 
 
 TTKH 
 
 This Infcription in Gruter and others, is, 
 accordins; to cuftom, very inaccurately taken. 
 
 The
 
 172, O/Amphitheatres. 
 
 The counterdiftinguifhed Letters are wanting 
 in the Stone, and I have fuppHed them , but 
 in the fifth Line, where, in all printed Works, 
 the Word PARTEM is put in, the Stone 
 has room but for two Letters, ib that it could 
 not have expreffed any thing elfe but ITEM, 
 which Method is feen in others, and perhaps 
 it was wrote for IDEM, as is often obferved 
 in the popular way of pronouncing, which 
 varied between thofe two : ib that here AT 
 is made for AD. Hence Lucilius Jujiinusy 
 after having, in that City, performed the 
 Fundion of Magiftracy, in all its Degrees, 
 with confent of the People, made four Arches 
 in the TorticOy which led to the Ltidus 
 Vublicus j where alfo Pillars were built and 
 covered, paved and painted. By the word 
 Superficies, the Writers of the Civil Law 
 underftand all that is above ground. The 
 tw0^ Greek Words on the Back of the Stone, 
 I take for that proverbial Saying, ufed even 
 in our Language : Time and Fortune gru- 
 uiQvs wpctf, as we have it in ThilOy at the 
 End of his Book on the Creation ; however 
 they have tranflated it Horas^ tho' it fig- 
 nifies Seafons. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 of Amphitheatres^ 175 
 
 CHAP. XV, 
 
 An Account of the Amphitheatre of 
 Verona in the latter Ages. 
 
 WE have already 'mention'd how long 
 it IS fince the firft Circuit of this Pile 
 began to give way, tho' it is credible, that 
 It received a very fatal Blow, at the time 
 when GalliemtSj being appreheniive of the 
 Invafions of the barbarous Nations, built the 
 Walls of Verona in great hafte, fince we 
 difcover that Stones, which had formerly- 
 been in the Amphitheatre, are ftill to be feen 
 in thofe Walls; and we may very well be- 
 lieve, that having fuch Materials ib very near 
 at hand, and fo eafy to be come at, they 
 made great ufe of them on that occafion. 
 I once imagined, that perhaps the Top of the 
 Circuit had been then demoliflied, and thrown 
 on the ground, on purpofe that the Arena 
 might not be poffelTed by the Enemy, fo as 
 to overpower and damage the lower parts 
 of the City from above ; but I dropt this 
 Opinion, by obferving, that the fmall part 
 of the external Circumference, which ftill re- 
 mains, is particularly on that Side, where, 
 in fuch a Cafe, they would certainly have 
 begun to dcftroy. The laft account we have 
 of Affemblies in that Amphitheatre, is in the 
 
 Acls
 
 174 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Ads of St. Fermo and Rujiico -, namely, in 
 the Year of Chrifl: 304. For it is not to 
 be doubted, but the Beginning of their 
 Matyrdom happened within the Arena ; 
 fince, the Day before, the Governor invited 
 the People to the Shew, where accordingly 
 they all ' came. Thither was our fourth Bi- 
 ftiop, S.Trocolus^ who defired Martyrdom, 
 led, tho' Anolmus chofe not to commit his 
 Cruelties on him. 
 
 The Gladiatory Shews being a little after 
 that aboliflied, contributed furely not a 
 little to the Ruin of tlie Amphitheatres j for 
 as the chief Ufe of thofe Buildings ceafed, 
 they were not at pains to repair them, from 
 time to time, as was neceffary for their Pre- 
 lervation. But I think the Amphitheatre re- 
 ceived be fides, a much more fenfible Blow, 
 when in order to comprehend it within that 
 part of the City which remained on the Out- 
 fide of the ancient Enclofure, they built 
 another more ample than the former, which 
 muffc have happened in the Beginning of the 
 fixth Age ; it being proved by Hiilory, that 
 the faid Enclolure was the Vv^ork of Theo- 
 doric, 'Tis true, that Wall was made of 
 other kinds of Materials 5 namely, Imal] 
 Pieces of foft Stones, fquared in a clumfy 
 manner, as may be feen in feveral Places : 
 But for all that, one of its Towers, a great 
 part of which ftill remains, makes us be- 
 
 ^ Canveuerat omnis mMtHdo Fopuli ad Speciaculnm. 
 
 lieve,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 1*75 
 
 lieve, that in the others [which were of a 
 different and jftrong kind of Strufture from 
 the Wall it felf ] feveral Stones of the Am^ 
 phitheatre were made ufe of in building them. 
 We fee that Tower comprehended within 
 the Walls of the old Caftle, near the Arch, 
 de Gavii^ not being built at the fame time 
 with the Caftle, as is believed, but only- 
 augmented in the higher part thereof, which 
 is made of Brick. 
 
 In the lower part, built of ancient Stone, 
 which before had been ufed, the greateft 
 of them were of the firft Enclofure of the 
 Amphitheatre; and among thefe we find 
 a piece of an Architrave, which had belonged 
 to the third Story 5 nor is there room to doubt, 
 but the Tower was made out of the fecond 
 Enclofure, fince, between the forefaid Stones, 
 and the Plaifter laid above them by the Sea-- 
 ligersy one part is likewife feen of the ufual 
 Materials and Workmanfhip, with which 
 the whole Wall of Theodorick was made ; 
 nay, entering the Caftle, we may fee how 
 it continues within that Wall, and proceeds, 
 interrupted now and then, even to the River 
 by which it was bounded. 
 
 After the Times of the Romans^ the firft 
 mention we find of our Arena^ is in the 
 Rhime compofed while King Tippin refided 
 in that City ; publiihed lately by me in my 
 Hiftory of tOiplornds^ reduced to its true 
 Form and Reading. In it is contained a De- 
 I fcription
 
 1*7(5 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 fcription of Verona ; the Author of which, 
 after he has Ipoke of the Walls, and the 
 Towers of its Enclofure, before any other 
 thing, names the Arena, and fays thus : 
 
 Habet altum Labyrmthum^ magnum per 
 
 circuitum. 
 In quo nefcius egrejjusy nunquam *ualet 
 
 Egrediy 
 Nifi cum Igne lucernay vel cum fili 
 
 glomere. 
 
 In feveral Manufcripts, tho' of fmall an- 
 tiquity, and ftill lefs value, I have found a 
 Work of our Archdeacon Vacificus cited, 
 who died Anno 846. This they hint to 
 have been a kind of Geographical Didionary, 
 in which the Arena of Verona was men- 
 tioned, by the Name of Labyrinth"^ but a 
 more fure account of it we have in RateriuSy 
 our famous Bifhop, in the tenth Age. He, 
 in the little Work, intitled * §iualitatis Con- 
 jeEiura-, fpeaking of fome Revolutions which 
 happened in the City, mentions a Palace 
 kept by way of a Caftle, and another too 
 called Cortalta^ which lerved for the like 
 ule ; and mentions the Circus ^ by the Name 
 Arena, in which a certain Count 3 kept 
 garrilbn for his own Security. The Guftom 
 in the lower Ages, of making ufe of the 
 
 ^ V. Dacher Spic. t. i, 3 Jpfe in circnm quod arena dicitur 
 ob cujlodiam manfitaret. 
 
 ancient
 
 O/^Amphitheatres. 177 
 
 ancient Edifices as places of Defence, is con- 
 firmed by many Evidences and Writers ; and 
 indeed not Amphitheatres only, like that of 
 Capua and NimeSj but Therms and Temples 
 had the like ufe made of them • as may be feen 
 in the Life oi Innocent III. nay, Hadrian*^ 
 burying Place is, till this very day, a Caftle. 
 We muft not omit here remarking, that 
 which confirms what was fhewn in the ninth 
 Chapter, viz. that in the lower Ages the 
 Names oithQ Roman Edifices for Games, were 
 confounded one with another, and ufed after a 
 ftrange manner. Our Rhiming Poet call'd the 
 Amphitheatre a Labyrinth; for fuch did he 
 imagine the m.any Windings and Turnings, 
 the various Stair:, the circular Steps, and the 
 internal Galleries, refembled. So likewife 
 in the time of the Romans^ the fubterraneous 
 Monument of the Chiuji [which was a good 
 Sample of the Tufcan Magnificence] was, 
 perhaps for the fame reafon^call'd a Labyrinth. 
 The Theatre of Verona went by the Name 
 of Circle, and Semidrck ; I mean that fituated 
 on the Colltne or fmall rifing Ground.according 
 to the famous Refcript of BeringariuSy which 
 may be feen in TanvinmSj and who per- 
 mitted the public Edifices to be thrown down 
 when they threatned Danger to others. On 
 the other hand, the Amphitheatre was call'd 
 Theatre in a certain Print, to which I Ihall 
 very foon refer. In another Record, which, 
 in treating about that of Toldj I fliall pro- 
 N duce.
 
 178 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 duce, therein will be ftiewn, that even Palaces 
 were calFd by theName of Theatre and Tem- 
 ple. However, the Name Arena is well known » 
 in the laid Paffage oiRaterius^ and was always 
 retain'd among our People and the. Romans 
 XOQj from whom it was even handed down 
 to us. With regard to the ancient Deriva- 
 tions, there is ftill the word Covoli^ w^hich, 
 in the Veronefe Dialed, denotes covered 
 Places, and the interior parts of the Amphi- 
 theatre. Ciibile^ according to Vttrwvius, 
 fignifies thofe Places where Stones or Wood 
 reft or are fupported, and upon thofe Vaults 
 were the Steps laid. Arcovalos and Arco- 
 "volitos [whence, in the y\ji\^2LX Italian is the 
 word Archivolti^ as Volt a a Vault is from 
 Voluta'] this we have in the Teftament or 
 Laft-Will of Giovanni Veronefe^ Bifliop of 
 ^avia. Anno 922, and publilh'd by Ughelliy 
 which fignifies, the Arcades or Arches, and 
 Vaults of the Theatre, in which the forefaid 
 Perfon caufed the Oratory of St. Syrus to be 
 made. Saraina cited a paffage in the Itine- 
 rary of Cyriacus Anconttanus^ in which the 
 Name Labyrinth is given \.o\hQ Arenas and 
 'tisfaid, that the Infide was furrounded with 
 Cubali and Caves : it is likewife found written 
 * CtibatiSj but that Paffage^ notv/ichftanding 
 k is made ule of and adopted even by Lip- 
 fins and Btilingery is however of fmall Au- 
 thority, fincc of that Itinerary we find no 
 
 4 Ctibdis o* Antris multifoy miter redimitm, 
 
 I certain
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 179 
 
 certain Account. In the Colledion of In- 
 fcriptions, which has the Appearance of an 
 Itinerary, as made by Oyriacus^ when he tra- 
 velled into feveral parts of the World, and 
 printed at Romey no mention is made of 
 Verona \ and yet part of thofe Words is cited 
 by ^ Tanviniusy as from an uncertain Chro- 
 -nkay and not at all oi Cyriactts. 
 
 Some ufe or other may probably have been 
 made of the Arenay even in the middle Ages, 
 and perhaps for Shews, altogether unknown 
 to us. In foolifh Fables and imaginary Re- 
 -ecM'ds, we have an account of Battles fought 
 by Lancellotto da Lago, and other romantic 
 Meroes 5 notwithftanding all this, it is cer- 
 tain, that the Amphitheatre lerved for the 
 Field of judicial Duels, that is, Combats ap- 
 -pointed by Judges in thofe Ages, when, ac- 
 cording to the Laws of the Longobardsy and 
 t4ie Inftitutions of the northerly Nations, 
 many Differences were folely decided by 
 ©uels. That the like Cuftom continued 
 longer in Verona than in any other place, we 
 may well fuppole on account of the Con- 
 venience of the Amphitheatre, which excited 
 'People thereto. I have feen myfelf in fe- 
 veral Records, Evidences of this, tho' they 
 are not proper to be mention'd in this place. 
 In the time of Innocent III. a perfonal Chal- 
 lenge, to fight by way of Duel, was fent by 
 the Governor of the place, to a certain Clergy. 
 
 * jAnt. 'ver. f,x. c. 2. 
 
 N 2 nian
 
 l80 Of AMPHlTHE^TREiSi 
 
 man who had kill'd an Archprieft, as is feen 
 in an Epiftle of that Pope to our Biihop and 
 Cardinal Adelardo, whofe Name was not 
 iinderftood by ^ Bahizio, as having been 
 only mark'd with an initial Letter. But that 
 there was another kind of Trial in an Age 
 ftill nearer our own Times, appears evi- 
 dent in a long and curious Roll that I 
 keep in my domeftick Treafury of Monu- 
 ments, wrote in the Age 1300: in itiscon- 
 tain'd an account of the Trial of Judgement 
 regarding certain Perfons, furnamed Vifcontiy 
 in the Year 1 263, by way of Examination and 
 WitneiTes, who pretended that they and their 
 Forefathers had, for more than a hundred 
 Years, been in pofTeffion of the Toll or Tax 
 of the Gates of St Stephano and ^ VefcovOy 
 and of all Ingrefs by Land or Water from that 
 Part ; and alfo inpojfejjion of the ^ Entrance 
 to, and Honour of the Arena, on occafion 
 of Combats judged and performed in the 
 fame Arena. Some of the Witneffes affirm, 
 that for every judicial Combat fought in the 
 Theatre, they always had receiv'd twenty- 
 five Livres of Yeronefe Money ^ with an 
 Obligation to keep the place fecure : And 
 they affirm, ^ that, in order to guard the 
 
 * Lib. I. ^^.485-. "7 Introitum, ^Honorem. 
 
 ® ArenA occdfiom pugnarum juJicafarum, quAfiunt in ipf^ 
 Arena. 
 
 9 Ire (td TheatrHtn pro euflodiendo batuium, cum hommibus 
 a rmmis. 
 
 Com-
 
 Q/'Amphitheatres. i8r 
 
 Combatarasy they had feen tbem fevcral 
 times, go to the Theatre ^juith armed Men. 
 From this finguiar Record we learn, that 
 our Amphitheatre ferved a longtime as a 
 free Field for Duels judicially decreed : 
 And it is credible, that becaule of the Fit- 
 nels and Security of the Place, People 
 ■from other Parts came thither; by which 
 the Community of the City receiv d a Tri- 
 bute, from thofe to whom it was farmed 
 out. 
 
 > But one thing cannot be denyVi as pecu- 
 liarly in favour of the People of Veroyia^ 
 and not common to any other Citizens what- 
 ever: The Hiftory of our Amphitheatre ter- 
 minates with its Reftorations, having been 
 always repaired without ev^er grudging the 
 Money laid out therein, even till our own 
 times. I'he other Amphitheatres have not 
 been ^o fortunate in this refped, not es^en 
 that of Rome, and would to God it had but 
 had the lame goodLuck to have efcaped being 
 demoiiih'd ! as that of 'Poia had, as we fhail 
 ftiew in another place. However, publicfc 
 Decrees, made for reftoring and keeping up 
 the Fabrics of Amphitheatres, I think, can 
 be Ihewn no where ellc, but in Verona, and 
 this more anciently than what can be well 
 imagined. A moft finguiar Code is prefer ved 
 among the Archives belonging to our cano- 
 nical Chapter, wrote in the Year 1228, in 
 which is contain'd the Veronefe Statute, or 
 
 N 3 ^he
 
 l8i 0/ AMPHITHEATfeES- 
 theCharge enforced by the Community there, 
 on whoever fhould be invefted with the Of- 
 fice of Todefta or Governor, and by him 
 promifed and fworn to; which paved the 
 way to the Compilation of thofe Statutes. 
 In this Code, at the Paragraph which, if 
 they were numbered, is the 162^, we find 
 that the Governor promifed, in repara- 
 tione & refe^ione Arena-, de communi ex^ 
 fendam in meo regimine^ infra fex menfes 
 ab initio mei regiminiSy quingentas libras > 
 it a tamen quod hoc poffit immutari VQlun- 
 tate Confilii^ vel Arengi. This admirable 
 Record and the Contents of that Paragraph, 
 I owe to Mr. Chancellor Campagnola^ who 
 tranfcrib'd it for me, and who, with very 
 great Judgment and incredible Diligence, 
 has beautify 'd and put that iame Repofitory 
 in order. Ihe Sum of 50oLivres was very 
 confiderable in thofe days, and therefore the 
 Defire) of the Inhabitants of our City, we 
 fijid, not fmall, even at that time, I fay, for 
 having that Treafure kept up and prefer- 
 ved. 
 
 As the forefaid Book may be called the 
 firft Statute, ^o may alio another, which is 
 kept in the particular Mufaum of the Pro- 
 veditors of the City, be reckoned the fecond. 
 It was wTote in different Years, tho' no part 
 thereof is after 1376. It contains the Sta- 
 tutes feveral times regulated and prefcrib'd 
 under the Government of the ScaUgers^ and 
 
 i§
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. i8| 
 
 IS divided into fix Books. In the end of the 
 firft there are the Eleftions of the People, 
 who confer'd the Government upon them, 
 but afterwards degenerated into a. Monarchy, 
 In the fourth Book, Chapter 156, we find 
 they had ordered all the Gates of the Arena 
 to be fliut, which formerly had been kept 
 open, and in the following manner did they 
 provide for its being guarded and kept in 
 order. 
 
 ^im mult a maleficia in. Theatro five 
 
 Arena commiffa fint ha^ienus, & poffent 
 
 committi de cetero, ftatuimus & ordinamus^ 
 
 quod di£fum Theatrum, five Arena^ clau- 
 
 fitm permaneat^ & claves port arum ejus in 
 
 majfiaria communis Veron£y vel apud maf- 
 
 farium di^i communis ponantur, & ftent ; 
 
 & fi cpuis fregerit port as ^ v el mar urn ipfius 
 
 Theatri per vim, pttniatur in xxv libras 
 
 pro quoque^ & quaque vice, ^tod denun- 
 
 tiare teneantur & debeant jurati^ & cu^ 
 
 ftodes no£iis guaitarum circumftanttum ea- 
 
 dem die vel fequenti banum ad voluntatem 
 
 Domini Tote/tatis vel curi£ auferendo. Et 
 
 fi quis in eo Theatro fecerit aliquam Tur- 
 
 pitudinem 5 puniatur in 5 folidos pro uno- 
 
 quoque^ & qualibet vice *Trocmatores 
 
 communis Verona infra 1 5 dies officii fui 
 teneantur inquirere per covalos habit antes : 
 &fi invenerint aliquemhabentem cloacam^ 
 vel foffam, vel fcaffam difcurrentem in 
 di£lo Theatroy vel Arena, 6<:c. 
 
 N 4 The
 
 iS^ 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 The third Statute is that which was regulated 
 anew, ^nd -pxinted ^nno 1475; in it maybe 
 feen the forelaid Ordination, repeated with but 
 little Difference, only a Penalty is laid on 
 thofe who fhould remove any of the Steps 
 out of their places, or carry off any of the 
 Stones ; befides, another curious Law is fub- 
 join'd, which every one may obferve in Print. 
 In a Poem wrote by Tanfilo Sajfo^ in the 
 Year 1480, I find that the greateft part of 
 the Steps was wanting : The Text is in MS. 
 and in my own Colleftion, in which is ex- 
 prefs'd that the Arena was gradibus 'vacua. 
 But in the Age 1500 they fell to work to 
 repair it in good earneft, and in the Year 
 1 545. It was indeed an excellent Inftitutioa 
 to elect Ibme conliderable Citizen or other, 
 from time to time, whofe chief Care fhould 
 be to keep the Amphitheatre in good Or- 
 der and Repair. Twenty-three Years after, 
 there was a voluntary Contribution of the 
 Inhabitants, raifed for making the Steps a- 
 new, and for putting then! in their true 
 Places. In the Year 1579, a Tax was laid on 
 for four Years, for defraying the Charge of 
 ref airing the Amphitheatre, and a Relblu- 
 tion taken to petition the Government, that 
 a part of the Fines or Amercement, fhould be 
 applied thereto. Other like Decrees were en- 
 afted feveral times in the Council of ' °Twelve 
 
 i° A certain Order of Mug'ifirates m the State of YcnkCy 
 conjifiin^ of i 2, and ^o Senators. ' ■ 
 
 and
 
 of Amphitheatres. 185 
 
 and like wife in that of Fifty, who teftify 'd on 
 every occafion their Zeal and Care in fo 
 commendable and noble a Defign. Among 
 the others, in the Year 1606, it was agreed 
 and ordain'd, to increafe, for the future, the 
 pecuniary Fines two Sols in the Livre, in the 
 the criminal Caufes of the Confulate, in order 
 that the Money arifing therefrom, might be 
 applied for the Ufe of the Amphitheatre, 
 and by means of the Rectors, to petition 
 the Government to confirm that Decree. 
 Soon after the double Guardianfhip, and the 
 applying to the Reparation of the Amphithe- 
 atre was wifely put in ufe, by creating two 
 Prefidents, or Overfeers of the ^r^;^^ 5 which 
 Office [after the many other moft worthy 
 Perfons who have been in it] is at prefent, 
 with great Diligence and Zeal, held by the 
 Counts Gomberto Giujli, and Agoftino Ra?n- 
 baldi. 
 
 And fince at prefent all the Rows of Steps 
 are replaced and finifhed from the Bottom 
 to the Top of the Amphitheatre, I don't 
 think it amifs to caft an Eye on the Vero^ 
 nefe Youth, and the flouriftiing and nume- 
 rous Nobility of our Country, who have 
 been excited fometimes to make ufe of this 
 fingular and incomparable Field, for giving 
 proof of their martial Genius, and exercifing 
 their Valour therein. 
 
 To renew fometimes the folemn Exercifes 
 at Arms on horfeback, which for fo many 
 Ages had been laid afide, would furely 
 
 be
 
 i86 (y Amphitheatres. 
 
 be one of the moft elegant and fuperb En- 
 tertainments that could, in thele days, be 
 feen any where, or upon any occafion what- 
 ever j luch without doubt would be our 
 Amphitheatre, in feeing it full from the Bot- 
 tom to the Top all round with Speftators, 
 An Appearance like this furpaffes Imagina^ 
 tion, and would become the only proof, that 
 we ftiil participate of the ancient Ideas, and of 
 the Roman Grandeur in Shews 5 and certainly 
 a better Convenience than this could not be 
 defired, or a greater Excitement for cele- 
 brating, from time to time, Diverfions, ia 
 which Valour has a fhare, and which, by 
 deviating from the miferable Ufage of our own 
 Times, which chiefly feems to infpire People 
 with Effeminacy, and fuch a kind of Soft- 
 ' nefs, as if contrived on purpofe to debafe 
 our already wretched Nation, and make it 
 more and more indolent. 
 
 In the laft Age I find an Account of two 
 Tournaments, much more folemn than any I 
 have met wath j one in the Year 1654, the 
 other in 1622. In this laft, the firft Premium 
 was gained by the Marquis Aleffandro da 
 Monte, of whom Orlando Tefcettij in his 
 T>ialogo dell' Honored, makes mention, as 
 does Talladio in his Hiftory of Fr'mli, and 
 Brifoni in his Hittory of Italy i as a Perfon 
 who afterwards became a great General, as 
 may alfo be feen in his Life, publilhed by 
 Conte Gualdo : and indeed much more may 
 
 be
 
 Of AMPHlTHEATkES. 187 
 
 be feen in many of his own Letters, and in 
 the Letters of Cardinal Mazarine, and others, 
 to him : The firft of thefe are prefcrv'd by 
 thofe to whom he wrote* but that other 
 Tiltings were likewife performed in the laft 
 Age, tho' we have no particular Relation there- 
 of publiihed, may be conjeftured from that moft 
 rare Print in large of the Arena, engraven. 
 Anno 1627, the like of which, till then, had • 
 never been leen 5 a Copy thereof is, by good 
 luck, now abroad in the world. In this Print wx 
 fee a Tilting delineated from the Life, with a 
 Reprefentation of the whole Appearance, and 
 the Cavaliers in Armour, and the Habits they 
 wore, with the Arms of their Families upon 
 their Shields ; together with the two Cham- 
 pions in the Attitude of running on one ano- 
 ther with their Lances, but feparated by a 
 Bar betv/een them : there likewife are the 
 Re£tors reprefented, fitting on a Bench, with 
 the Judges and the Rewards lying by them. 
 "Tis credible, that many Tournaments were 
 made in ancient Times. Saraina, in his 
 Hiftory, mentions one in the Year 1222. 
 
 The Command of Friends, and the earneft 
 Pefire of many others, have at laft prevailed 
 with me to mention here alfo the Tilting with 
 Lances and the Courfeat the Ring, which, with 
 as fuitable a Preparation as the Times would 
 allow, was performed in the Arena, the 
 2oth of November y in the Year 1716, on 
 the Occafion of the Arrival of the iUuftrious 
 
 Prince;,
 
 i88 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 Prince, the prefent Eleftor of Bavaria, in 
 Verona, The Rain, which unfortunately 
 lafted all that Day, tho' but a fmallone, 
 neither hindred the Performance, nor de- 
 prived many of the Spectators from feeing 
 it. The Part of the Matter of the Field, 
 was performed by the Count Coza Coziy 
 .a Gentleman who has had but few Equals 
 in this noble Art, and been honoured and 
 Ibught after by feveral Princes. The Judges 
 appointed at this Solemnity were the fol- 
 lowing; namely, the Marquis Ottaviano 
 Spolverini^ and the Count Gomberto Giufti ; 
 the Marquis Gio Carlo Malafpma^ and the 
 Count Ricciardo San Bonifacio, 
 
 The Aftors or Combatants were, 
 
 Count Gitigno Tompei. 
 
 Count Alberto Tompei, 
 
 The Marquis Scipio Majfei, 
 
 Count Afcanio Mafei. 
 
 Count Aleffandro Sanbajiiani. 
 
 Count Emilio Emilii^ Knight of Af^//^, 
 
 Count Rambaldo Rambaldi, 
 
 Count Francefco Rambaldi. 
 
 The Seconds were as follows. 
 
 Count Gerolamo Allegri. 
 Count Gerolamo Rambaldi. 
 Count Gerolamo "Pompei. 
 
 Signor
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, 189 
 
 Signer Giacomo Bra. 
 Count Gaetano Bevilacqua, 
 The Marquis Gerolamo Spolverinu 
 Marquis Antonio Sagramofo. 
 Signer Bertoldo Tellegrinu 
 
 End of the Firji Book. 
 
 O F
 
 O F T H E 
 
 AMPHITHEATRES; 
 
 Particularly that .of 
 
 VERONA. 
 
 — «— — il— ■ ■ H I H> I I 11 «J— M^i— ^i— ^— I ■ 
 
 B O O K II. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the Prints which hitherto hav^ 
 been made of the Amphitheatre. 
 
 FTER the Hiftorical Account 
 given of the Amphitheatre, we 
 Ihali proceed to examine the Struc- 
 ture it felf 5 and indeed it would 
 afford us but little advantage 
 £where we treat of an Edifice] to have a 
 knowledge of the outward Parts thereof, if 
 
 we
 
 Ill,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 191 
 
 we underilood not its Form, and the Artifice 
 with which it was built: Nor would the 
 Miftrefs of Arts, I mean Architedure, for 
 which we are folely beholden to the Ancients, 
 receive any advantage thereby. I know 
 very well that my Care herein will at firft 
 view be reckoned too great, and my La- 
 bour ufelefs, Hnce lb many Antiquaries and 
 Architects have wrote already on this Sub- 
 ject 5 and befides, the Draughts of the Am- 
 phitheatres already publiftied, are fo ample 
 and fumptuous, that moil People will be of 
 Opinion, that nothing is left for me but to 
 repeat what they have faid, and copy anew, 
 as is ufual in this prefent Age. But I am 
 fo far from following this Method, that I 
 am in my very Beginning obliged [with the 
 fame Deference I have always ufed in wri- 
 ting] to alTure the Republick of Letters, 
 that hitherto little or nothing is known about 
 Amphitheatres, and the Draughts handed 
 about, ferve, for the mod part, only to give 
 a Notion of the Infide of them, and their 
 mofl eflential Parts, quite contrary to what 
 they are in reality. It appears very odd to 
 fome People, that I have the boldnefs to fay 
 now and then, that Antiquities have all need 
 to be repaired or done over again : But per- 
 haps this fiiort Effay may produce Evidences, 
 for fupporting the Affertion 3 and may I be 
 permitted to lay [without any way departing^ 
 from that Humility, within the Bounds of 
 
 which,
 
 I9i 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 which, I ought at any rate to contain my 
 felfj that as now the fourth Age is going 
 on; nay, with regard to Italy y the fifth, 
 fince Literature was revived : it is therefore 
 high time, that fome certain kinds of Study 
 ftiould be advancing, and an end put to 
 Authors copying from one another; and to 
 aim at a Reputation, and a Merit in Books, 
 which is commonly done now-a-days, not 
 by a thorough Examination of things, or 
 by leading People to Truth ; but as they are 
 coftlv, and come from Places far off: above 
 all, if they are bulky to the Eye, and are 
 only valued as they make a gaudy Figure, 
 and become a part of rich Furniture, which 
 cuftom in valuing Books has been very fa- 
 tal to Literature in general. 
 
 But to proceed, with regard to Amphi- 
 theatres endrely of Stone : I am of opinion, 
 that they were not made of a different kind 
 of Architefture, like the Temples ; but fo 
 very uniform, that if we had one entire, we 
 might by it judge of all the others : but 
 as we are not fo happy, we muftlearchfor 
 a right underftanding of them from the dif- 
 ferent Remains we ftill have of the Amphi- 
 theatres oi Rome and Verona, fince thofe 
 two are the moft magnificent, and beft pre- 
 lerved of any. Of the one we have the ex- 
 ternal Part remaining, of the other the Entrails, 
 if we may fpeak fo of fuch Bodies. Mighty 
 things have been told us about the Magnifi- 
 cence
 
 (y Amphitheatres, 195 
 
 Cence of that of Capua ; but that which is 
 aflerted by ' one who has celebrated it 
 moft, agrees very ill therewith, namely, 
 that its infide was not made of Stone but 
 Brick ; be that as it will, what remains 
 is io little, that it cannot afford us any 
 great light therein : and yet we find it intirein 
 moft Prints, tho' this, as is ufual, is the 
 meer Work of Imagination. It is commonly 
 given out that the Amphitheatre of Nimes 
 is exceedingly well preferved, yet thofe 
 who have accurately examined it on the 
 ipot, lay the contrary- nor indeed, as I 
 have already hinted, can we have any fuf- 
 ficient Evidence, that it was an Amphithea- 
 tre. To the i?^;'>^^;^ Amphitheatre then, and 
 to that o{ Verona^ we mult have recourfe, par- 
 ticularly to the latter, fince the greateft Diffi- 
 culty confifts in knowing well the Internal 
 Part, and the Windings of the Stairs, and the 
 Paffages which gave occafion to thofe of the 
 middleAges to call AmphitheatresL^^r/;^/^^.^*, 
 with regard to which that oiRome affords fmall 
 light, becaufe thofe Parts do not fubfift. 
 We may conjedure from all this what 
 ground there was for the AfTertions of thofe 
 who have diffufedly wrote on Amphithea- 
 tres \ tho' they never came to ftudy from 
 ours at Verona^ which alone could have 
 given them Light therein. Such Authors 
 however fhould have necelTarily made it 
 
 * Montf, Ant, t, 3. pg. ayS. Dlur, It,c. 22, 
 
 O their
 
 194 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 their Bufmefs to have dug in the Infide of 
 that of Romey and to uncover the Foundation 
 of the inner Gates, and lowefl: Entries, of 
 -svhich Particular every one of them have 
 fpoke at random, and by chance 5 nor in- 
 deed by other means could they know 
 any thing of the fubterraneous Strudure, 
 nor the ancient Floor of the Building, nor 
 of the Prifons at prefent buried under Ground; 
 nor of feveral other Parts neceffary to be 
 known. Inftead of this, every one of them 
 hastranfcribed what was faid before their own 
 Times, and their greateft Care has been to 
 fliew in their Drawings, thofe Parts of the 
 Building which do not at prefent exift, and 
 which no Mortal knows in what manner they 
 were made. The Draught of them given 
 by LipJiuSy was in a more particular manner 
 approved of, more than any of the others ; by 
 it he reprefented the CoUfeum in the Form 
 which he imagined the Infide to have been 
 when it exifted. And yet here will be 
 ftiewn, that whatever he added of this 
 kind, of his own Invention, was but very 
 indifferently underftood 5 I mean, as far as 
 is llievvn in his Draught, excepting the Por- 
 ticos, or Circular Galleries, of which he had 
 a Hint in Serlios Plan thereof. 
 
 I know many will wonder that I imagine 
 any thing remains to be laid on this Subjeft, 
 after what we have in the Book lately 
 printed in Holland^ which has no Ids than 
 
 Twenty
 
 G/ Amphitheatres; 195 
 
 Twenty fumptuous Plates, engraved by a 
 Roman Architeft, laying before our Eyes 
 the Colifeuni delineated, part by part ; nor 
 will they underftand what regard this fmall 
 Treatife can ever deferve, with its ftiatter'd 
 Figures, when compared with that vaft Vo- 
 lume, wherein every thing is ftiewn perfed. 
 As to what regards that good Man, Fontanay 
 the Author, I Ihall fay nothing at prefent, 
 but that his Genius and Labour were very 
 commendable, by not taking notice of the 
 Defefts very common in Books upon that Sub- 
 ject, which treat of Matters foreign to the 
 purpofe. He has feveral good things in his 
 Work, and might have become very ufe- 
 ful in illuftrating Ibme parts; but the Book 
 printed in his Name was not finiflied by 
 him, nay remained imperfedi and that 
 which is worfe, inftead of being reviled at 
 Rome, or reduced to form by fome of his 
 Scholars; the Original was bought by fome 
 Ultramontane or another, and ^o publifhed 
 we know not by whom; nay, more than 
 that, as it appears by the Style in feveral 
 Places, It vv^as altered and fupplied by 
 the hand of a Stranger. For which reafon 
 befides the many Errors in transforming 
 Words into one another, the Senfe is changed, 
 and the Language fuch, that in fome places 
 it can fcarcely be underftood ; more than 
 that, the Citations are falfe, and mifera- 
 bly expreffed. All thefe there are, toge- 
 
 O 2 thcx
 
 I9<5 0/Amphitheatr e s. 
 
 ther with other Weaknefles innumerable, and 
 indeed mofc wonderful : for example, we read 
 * in itj that the Theatre of Pompey was 
 burnt in the Time of Philip of Macedon, 
 and that behind the Senators fat the 
 fourteen Orders of Knights: But befides 
 all this, there are Errors in the Archi- 
 tectonic Part, fuch as we cannot poffibly 
 imagine a Profeffor of that Art could have 
 committed. For Vitruvius, teaching by way 
 of Example, to make the Steps on which 
 People fat in the Amphitheatre, not higher 
 than a s *Palmopicde^ in this Book we read 
 that he defired they might be made no 
 more than one Tahi in height ; and that 
 "Palmopiede fignified nothing elfe: where 
 befides that ridiculous Incongruity, if the Au- 
 thor had not underftood Latin, the very 
 Tranflation by T>aniel Barbaroh^iS it," that 
 " the Seats or Steps ought not to be made 
 " higher than one Talm, and one Foot '^* 
 and adds, *' Ko more than a Foot and fix 
 ^'Inches;' having well read the whole of 
 that PalTage, which ^ Lipfius calls de- 
 formed. 
 
 We may remark, that none of the Mo- 
 dern Authors or Colkdors, have taken any 
 notice of a Book, which is the only one 
 that has mentioned any thing about theDivifion 
 or Diftribution of Amphitheatres 5 the Title 
 
 * Vag. 15. er. 28. 3 vitr. L j. ca^. 6. Font. p. 93. 
 4 iTp/. Amphit, r. 15. 
 
 3 of
 
 0/^Amphitheatres. i9'7 
 
 of it is, T>ifcourfes on the Antiquities of 
 Rome, by Vincenzo Scamozzi, an ArchiteH of 
 Vicentia, printed at Venice^ Anno 1583. Of 
 the 40 Plates therein, which exhibit Draughts 
 of the Roman Antiquities 15 are confecrated 
 to the Amphitheatre, in the few Words 
 which Scamozzi prefixes to every one of 
 them, concerning the Paffages, the Stairs, 
 Lights, they are things but llightly touched, 
 and indeed not as yet underftood, nor dili- 
 gently enquired after by others ; and I am 
 perfuaded that he had made a finifhed Work 
 of it, had he come to learn minutely, and 
 obferve what belongs to our Arena, and given 
 his Draughts from it, and adapted them to 
 liich an Intention : but fuch as are explained 
 by him, having been firft delineated by a 
 Painter, in order to ferve thole who draw 
 Perfpeftive and Landskips, as is feen in the 
 Things themfelves, and as is hinted in the 
 Dedication ; for this reafon they fcarce ferve 
 for any other Purpofe,and confequently render 
 the Difcourfes on that Subject obfcure, and 
 of linall advantage. 
 
 It is ftill more remarkable, that the Mo- 
 derns, for the moft part, neither value nor 
 make mention o{ Bajiian Serlio, ihcBolog- 
 nefe Architeft, who no lefsthan 200 Years 
 ago publiihed an excellent CoUedion of the 
 Drawings of ancient Edifices, and was him- 
 felf a Matter therein, and, we may fay, a 
 Pattern to all the others. His moft diftin- 
 O 3 guiihed
 
 198 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 guilhed Care was about the Amphitheatres, 
 having in his Books reprefented that of Rome^ 
 Verona^ and "Tola, and given the Plans, 
 Views, Sedions, Profiles and Parts of them. 
 Befides, Leon Battijla Alberti, the Floren- 
 tine^ as to what regarded the Steps, the En- 
 clofuresoftheTheatreSj [in which parts they 
 are the fame with thofe of the Amphitheatres^] 
 two Hundred and Fifty Years ago fpoke 
 much better on that Subjeft, than what we 
 find ufual in modern Volumes. T^efgodetsi 
 was the only Perfon who did honour to 
 Serlio, with regard to Amphitheatres, or other 
 Buildingsand Rem.ains of Antiquity. For,not- 
 withftanding he applied himfelf with the ut- 
 moft Diligence to mend his Errors, which were, 
 for the moil part, in the Proportions, and 
 which, perhaps, proceeded from the Inaccu- 
 racy of the printed Draughts made thereof, 
 yet he ftill followed his Footfteps. Among 
 all the Foreigners I know, that French Ar- 
 chitect, juft now named, deferves, in a moft 
 diftinguiihed manner to be praifed, for having 
 delineated the things of Antiquity with 
 Judgment and Truth, without rearing up 
 Fabricks of his own Invention, or impofing 
 his Chimsera's upon the World for Realities, 
 and real Pieces of Antiquity. We are like- 
 wife very much obliged to him for having 
 given the ArchiteBonic Parts of the four 
 Orders of the Colifeo in large, and their 
 Proportions with great Exaftnefs. 
 
 The
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 199 
 
 The Prints of the Amphitheatre of Capuuy 
 ^^ere taken from a Pifture, which the Arch- 
 biihop Cefare Cojia^ \_Baronius's Mafter for 
 the Law] caufed to be made in his Palace, 
 reprelenting it as they imagined it had been 
 in former times, without having further 
 light therein, but what they had from the 
 two undermoit Arches, which are preferv'd 
 till this day. 
 
 However, in the Book of * Les Anti- 
 quitez expliqitees^ or Antiquities explain* d^ 
 it is feen with feveral Gates, in the fourth 
 Story, and which are entirely out of place, 
 and are very differently reprefented in 
 the Canon Mazochios Book. From the 
 forementioned imaginary Picture, we have 
 the Print of fuch an Amphitheatre hinted at 
 by T. Vitali, a regular Clergyman of C^- 
 fua^ in his ^ Mathematical Lexicon. That 
 of Nimes was engraven by Gioanni Toldo, 
 Graffer^ and Lipjius, and on loofe Papers 
 and in th^ Atlas of the Cities of France ^ 
 printed in the Year 1706, and laftly, in the 
 Antiquities explain d. In thole Books it is 
 given out to be the bell preferved Amphi- 
 theatre of any ; but why do they not then 
 reprefent the Infide thereof, and its other 
 different Parts ? On the contrary, they fliew it 
 in fuch a manner, that People can make really 
 but very little of it ? Torello Sarama, the 
 Hiftorian, and Giovanni Caroto the Painter, 
 in Serlio^ time, undertook to give us Draughts 
 
 9 Tom. 3. J^hte I4p. « I» ^- Thutrnm,
 
 100 of Amphitheatres. 
 
 of the Arena of Verona^ nor was t±ielr La- 
 bour therein contemptible. But in the Year 
 1 560, Tierro Ligcrio publilhed a new Print 
 thereof, caft off in Lafrerios RoUing-Prefs, 
 upon ioofe Paper. In the fame Sheet he gave 
 the exterior and interior Uprights, together 
 with the Section and Plan ; but in the whole 
 very little regarded Truth, or obferved the 
 Meafures or Proportions therein : nay, the firft 
 Parts he delineated according to his own Fancy. 
 This Draught had, however, a greater run 
 than any of the others, it being umal for 
 fictitious things to meet with more applaufe 
 than thofe that are real ^ as Romances are 
 commonly more admired by fome People 
 than true Hiftory. This Print, together with 
 all the Reprefentations of Statues in it, 
 was exaftly copied by Lipjius, and inferted 
 in his Treatife on Amphitheatres out of Rome ; 
 and afterwards exhibited by the Publifhcrs 
 of the pofthumous Works of ^anvmius^ on 
 the Antiquities of P^erona : in fine, this 
 Draught has hitherto ferved, and ftill does 
 for an Original to thofe who have a mind 
 to fatisfy popular Eyes with a view of our 
 Amphitheatre, and of other fuch Buildings 
 too ; fince it has been copied in order to re- 
 prefent likewife that of "^ Aiittin. 
 
 But "Defgodetz did not go this way to 
 work, for in the Antiquities out of Rome^ 
 exhibited by him, he has given only our 
 Arena of l^erona a place in his Book. He 
 
 "^ V.^nt.eirplamdj torn. 3. Cxa-
 
 of Amphitheatres, loi 
 
 examined it himlelf on the fpot^and according- 
 ly has publiftied four Prints thereof, in which 
 fome things are much better reprelented than 
 in the other Drawings made betore his time. 
 He was, however, not lb lucky in under- 
 ftanding the moft intricate parts of the Build- 
 ing, nor indeed in comprehending well, what 
 is of the greateft importance, the internal 
 Difpofition of the Parts. What regards the 
 exterior and interior Views, is very much to 
 be commended, and much more in large 
 than any other way, is that Print of it pub- 
 lilhed in Verona^ in the Year 1696, by Va- 
 lentino Mafieri^ the intelligent and curious 
 *ToffeJfor t hereof ^ in which what was wrote 
 under it was well didated, and the additional 
 Ornaments compleatly drawn. The Words 
 were inferted by Doctor Giufeppe Morando^ 
 a famous Phyfician 5 the Drawing made by 
 our own Lodovico T)origni, The Draughts, 
 by which I have endeavoured in this Treatife 
 to reprefent the fame Amphitheatre, part by 
 part, in its various Views, and internal Struc- 
 ture, are fuch as have never been till now in- 
 veftigated, and by which that of i?^;?^^, and 
 of ail the other Amphitheatres, can be un- 
 derftood : All thefe Drawings have been the 
 commendable Labour of Signor Saverio Ave- 
 fani^ ChizQU of Fero?My who in the late War 
 with the Turks, was in the Station of Engi- 
 neer, wherein he did not a little fignalize 
 himfelf : the Engraving is done by Signor 
 Francefco Zucchi. G H A P.
 
 ZOi 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 The entire Meafures of the Ver^nele 
 Arena, andoftheQo\\{^ViVVi\ with 
 an Account of the exteriour Parts 
 thereof 
 
 1 
 
 ^HE external and internal Form of 
 the Edifice, is oval : The firft Mea- 
 fures which I caufed to be taken were of 
 the two Axes of the EUipfis, and of the Line 
 of Contour. The greateft Length then, 
 from the firft Arch of Entrance to the other, 
 is 45 Veronefe Feet, and the greateft Breadth 
 360; the Length of the Area or Piazza 
 taken within the Walls, which circumfcribe 
 it, is 218 Feet 6 Inches, the Breadth 129, 
 the exterior Circumference or firft Enclofure, 
 1290 Feet. The Veronefe Foot is exadly 
 one Third more than the Roman Palm of 
 the Architeds. 
 
 The Colifeo^ according to Fontanas 
 AflTertion, was 564 of our Feet in length, 
 broad 467; the Area 273 long; and 173 
 broad; the CircumJerence 1566 Feet. 
 
 The fine Print of Aleffandro Specchi the 
 Architect, engraven in Rome in the Year 
 17-0^, makes the interior Length 300 Feet, 
 and the Breadth 203 j but this Difference 
 arifes from Fontanas having meafured, as 
 
 he
 
 Of Amphitheatres, loj 
 
 he ought to have done, within the Wall of 
 ihtTodium^ which at prefent is buried un- 
 der ground ; and Specchi^ from the Veltiges 
 of the next Round. 
 
 The Height of the Roman Amphitheatre, 
 which * Ammianus faid went beyond the 
 reach of human Eyes, amounts to 140 Feet, 
 including the 8, or thereabout, loft by the 
 Rifing of the Ground all around it, which 
 in alhameful manner, has been carried thither 
 by Cart-Loads, Above the upper Cornifti 
 there was a Courfe of Stones more than what 
 it is at prefent, of which fome pieces, about 
 three or four Palms in length, as yet remain 
 here and there at the top, and lerved for 
 the Ornament above that Courfe, as may be. 
 feen by our Drawing thereof : ITiere were 
 likewife three broad, but low Steps, which, 
 at the footof the Amphitheatre, furrounded 
 it quite, and by which they afcended to the 
 firft Entries. 
 
 'Tis credible our Arena was built in that 
 manner all around, on purpofe that the Pave- 
 ment of the firft Portico might be higher than 
 the Level of the Streets without. The 
 Height remaining at prefent, h about So 
 Feet, including the 6 which are under ground, 
 and alfo the fourth Order; nor is there 
 any doubt .but that fuch an Order has 
 been, becaufe we fee the very Stones above 
 the third, which form'd the firft Tyre or 
 
 } Lib, \(i. c.\o. 
 
 Belt
 
 204 0/ Am PHI THEATRES. 
 Belt thereof, if we may fo call it, and part of 
 the fecondj with the beginning of two plain 
 Pillars; lb that the Height could not be 
 lefs. than from no to 120 Feet. The Steps 
 remaining at prefent are in number 45, ex- 
 cluding the firft, which is under ground, 
 as is likewife that which fupported the Open- 
 ings above, and the fmall Stairs quite levelled. 
 Twenty-two thouland People can conve- 
 niently fit around it, allowing every one a 
 Foot and a half of room. Being now to 
 begin with the firft Enclofure or Vv^all of 
 the Amphitheatre, and as ours is almoft quite 
 demoliihed and loft, and the little part re- 
 maining wanting ; I therefore thought' it ne- 
 celTary to exhibit a View of the Amphi- 
 theatre of Rome^ which, as good luck 
 would have it, has ftill a part of the ex- 
 ternal Enclofure exceedingly well prclerved^ 
 being the moft liiperb Remain of ancient 
 Magnificence extant ; as there are four Floors 
 or Stories, fo are there as many different Or- 
 ders of Architedure ufed ^ with four Rows 
 of Pillars coming out from the Surface of the 
 Building, Mezzo-relievo ways. In the firfi: 
 twoOrders the Pilafters projecl two Thirds out- 
 ward, in the third about half the Diameter ^ 
 the higheft of all, are flat and fquare, which, 
 at fuch a diftance, delights the Eye much 
 better, than if it was other wife. The firft 
 Floor or Story, namely, the loweft of all, 
 is of the 'Doric Order, without Pedeftals i 
 
 the
 
 O/^Amphitheatres, 205 
 
 the fecond lonic^ the third Corinthian^ and 
 the fourth Roman or Compolite. Scamozzi 
 in his Treatife of Antiquities, had the notion 
 commonly received about thefe Orders, tho' 
 afterwards in his Work he affirmed, that the 
 fourth Story in the Coliieum was of the Co- 
 rinthian Order, juft like the third. The 
 trj^th is, the Capitals are; Corinthian^ and 
 like thofe of the third Ofder, with the four 
 Cilleries or curled Tufts, and tv/o Rows of 
 fmooth Foliage, tho' the Corbils in the Freeze 
 fhews them of the Compofite Order, as Serlio 
 affirms. By thefe Modilions, the whole up- 
 per ornamented part appeared to H^efgodetZy 
 to be but one only Cornifh, by which the 
 whole Building was crowned. 
 
 The Stakes or Piles which are ered, re- 
 prefent Beams, which reft on end in the 
 Menfole or Corbils, ieen all around and fence 
 the Architrave, and palling by the Cornifh, 
 the Ends of them fupported the Awning 
 which covered the Spectators, of which we 
 ftiall fpeak in its due place. That it was 
 ib, we are certain from the Hollows in the 
 Corbils, in which the Poles that held up the 
 Covering enter'd, and likewife from the Holes 
 which correlpond in the Cornifh ; nor in 
 any other manner could they make ufe of 
 that great Covering. Exadly fo is it un- 
 derftood and reprefented hj^aniel BarbarOy 
 in Book. V, .where he treats of the Theatre 
 with the Beams ftanding up, and likewife 
 
 with
 
 20(5 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 with that Zone or Bandage above the Cornifii * 
 of which I have already Ipoke, and more 
 than this, I have caufed to be added in my 
 Draught thofe kinds of Battlements or 
 Pinacles made like very fmall Pyramids, 
 with Balls upon them 5 which Ornaments at 
 the Top ' have been ill left out in the De- 
 Icriptions of others, fince we fee them ex- 
 aftly fo on all Medals : not only was this 
 graceful in finilhing, but neceffary for the 
 Security of the great Cornifh, and for counter- 
 ballancing the Out-jet or Projection above. 
 
 That the Amphitheatre oi Capua was like- 
 wife built on the Out-fide with the fame 
 four Orders of Architecture, is commonly af- 
 ferted ; but how can this be affirmed, fince 
 no more than two Rows of Arches of the 
 firft and loweft Stories are to be feen, and 
 are the only Arches that remain ? And fince 
 none of the higher parts are prefervcd, we 
 can fcarcely be certain, that there has been 
 four Stories \ and we have no Evidence to 
 the contrary, but that the Building might 
 have been continued with the fame Order 
 of Architecture upwards, like the Am- 
 phitheatres of Verona, Vola and Nimes, 
 There is a Controverfy about the two Arches 
 remaining at Capuay whether they are T>oriCy 
 as Sanfelici imagines, or Tufcan^ as the Ganoil 
 Mazochio thinks. According to the current 
 Idea People have about the Orders, fuch a 
 Difpute will appear odd j but in my own 
 
 Opinion,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 207 
 
 Opinion, 'tis a Matter of Indifference, even 
 to thofe who are moft skilled in the Art. 
 
 The Arena, however, oiTola^ was called 
 T^oric by SerUo\ by Talladioy Tufcan, 
 ^aviler^ 2l French Architeft, calls that of 
 NimeSy Tufcan, the others "Doric, The 
 Atlas of the Cities of France will have it 
 Ttifcan below, Doric above : The Arch in 
 the Gavii of Verona, was called Gompofite 
 by Serlio^ Corinthian by Daniel Barbaro, 
 The firfl: Story of the Colifeo is faid to be 
 DoriCy however they don t make the Freeze 
 of it plain and Imooth : The third Floor or 
 Story is Corinthian, but without Carving or 
 Ornament, except in the Capitals : The fourth 
 is Compofite, but with Corinthian Capitals, 
 and like thofe of the third. The Pillars a- 
 bove one another do not diminifh in Di- 
 menfion, according to Rule, but are all of a 
 thicknels; and the Void of the Arches, the 
 Parts, and Ornaments, and Meafures, in the 
 different Stories, have not that Diverfity of 
 Proportion which is believed to be effential 
 to different Orders. Font ana, befides the 
 View of the Colifeo, does not, as was ne- 
 cefTary, give the Parts in great, according 
 to their Meafures, or exacily delineated. 
 1 he Reafon he affigns is, becaufe fuch Parts 
 put together, don't iatisfy the Eye • having 
 the Members enlarged according to their 
 Diftancesi but this, I own, was a great 
 
 Pre-
 
 2o8 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Precept to Art. Some have remarked, that 
 the Corinthian Capitals in the Colifeum, were 
 not delicately wrought, but methinks it 
 would have been ridiculous to have cut the 
 Foliage or Leaves finely at that height, and 
 in fuch a Building ^ as it would be equally 
 ridiculous to follow that Manner in making 
 them Imooth in a Hall. As for the Meafures 
 or Proportions, and Parts, one would think^ 
 when we know the Orders themfelves, we 
 confequently know all that is neceflary : But 
 it remains to be obferv'd, whether the An- 
 cients, in the Rules of the Proportions, and 
 different Members of the Building [as now 
 eftablifh'd by many in the Orders] held them 
 as a perpetual and univerfal Law, or if, in 
 the fame Orders, Meafures, and Manners, 
 they differ'd, according to the various Kinds 
 of Buildings or the Judgement of the Architect, 
 or according to the different Circumftances 
 of things. All which muft be underflood with 
 Moderation and within certain Limitations : 
 For I fee that Vitruvitis^ after having treated 
 fully about the Pillars in Temples, when he 
 comes to fpeak of Theatres, he handles that 
 Subjed in a different manner, and fays, that 
 the Proportions and Meafures ought not to 
 be the fame in lacred Edifices, where the 
 whole ought to breathe forth Gravity - but 
 that Genteelnefs or Siendernefs agrees well 
 with Portico's and other fuch Works. 
 
 The
 
 ^ 0/*Amphitheatres. 209 
 
 The more does the Thought of thole two 
 notable French ^ Architects appear ridiculous 
 to me, who made the Tarallel between 
 ancient and modern Architecture ; and 
 lay, that as to the Tufcan Order, we have 
 nothing more left thereof in Antiquity, by 
 which we may know it, but Trajan's Pillar : 
 to which they would have us have recourfe, 
 and not to the Amphitheatres of Verona and 
 ^ola^ as 'Palladia has done. But, allowing 
 that the faid Pillar is of any Order at all, and 
 Tufcan-, [^ Fabretti^L&ns it tobe2)m^on 
 account of the Flutings which it has at the 
 Top] yet it is a Work fo very extraordinary 
 and different from all the others, that no Ar- 
 gument or Rule in the Art can be drawn 
 from it. By fuch kinds of Ideas, 'tis no 
 wonder that the learned ^ Tranflator of Vi- 
 truvius thought it out of all Proportion. 
 Of the common Tufcan Pillar we read in 
 ' 7 liny J that its Diameter at the Bale is the 
 feventh part of its Height, the ^oric the 
 fixth y but perhaps the Copyifts took away 
 an I from the i>oric^ and added it to the 
 Tufcan. 
 
 ^ Harduin in this PalTage cites Vitruvius 
 for confirming it, and where, Ipeaking of 
 the Tufcan Order, he feems to fay the lame s 
 
 * "EccdLrd and Chambray. ^ Col. Traj. ^.87. 
 
 4 Ferauh. Z.^. c. 7. * Lib- 3<5. f. i. 
 
 •L.4. C.7. 
 
 P but
 
 ZIO 0/ A M P H 1 T H*E A T R E S. 
 
 but in that place he does not treat of it in 
 general. With regard to the T>oric, in 
 another place he gives us to underftand, 
 that in the"^ beginning it confifted of fix Dia- 
 meters, but that at laft they fix'd it to feven. 
 However Rufconi^ who feems to me to have 
 underftood Vitritvius perfedly well, and by 
 the few Words he uies, and the Figures 
 he fo nicely adapts, makes others under- 
 ftand him too, fays, fpeaking of his Prin- 
 ciples, that leaving, for greater Beauty, the 
 more confined kinds of Models, they made 
 the Height of the T>oric Pillars of feven Dia- 
 meters. But the Marquils Giovanni Toleni 
 can afford us other Refleftions on this Head, 
 worthy of him, whofe Friendftiip I fincerely 
 prize > and if my Entreaties can prevail to 
 perfuade him to undertake the Publication 
 or a new Edition of Vitruvius^ from what 
 he has coUeded already, he will plainly 
 evince, that that Author has not as yet been 
 w^holly fliewn to the world in a true Light. 
 
 But in proceeding to the firft Round or 
 Enclofure of our Arena, you may obfervc 
 here in the fifth Plate, the Front and Side 
 of that part ftill fubfifting, which cannot be 
 feen to advantage on the fpot, becaufeof the 
 Narrownefs of the Street in that part. The 
 whole here is taken by Menfuration, and with 
 very much Exaftnels ; and in this Print the 
 Profile is alio fcen. A Hip of Memory made 
 
 ' Lib. 4. c. 7 . P/5/?^ri vtro, (^c, 
 
 T>ef.
 
 J^/a/e V 
 
 JiUUU'UlUJ 
 
 ""ii'i'ii""""'"""""""""""" linTTTM 
 
 .7^1
 
 c.
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, lit 
 
 T>efgodetz affert, that there were fix Arches 
 ftill remaining of our Amphitheatre. As to 
 that which is wanting at the Top, the Form 
 thereof can be conceived very well from a 
 printed View of the Colifeum ; and 'tis cer- 
 tain, that a Row of large Windows were 
 placed in the higher part of Amphi- 
 theatres. That of Rome was built of Tra- 
 "Vertine Stone, as well in the Circuit or ex- 
 terior Round, as in all the Pilafters, Arches, 
 Gates, Steps, and interior Stairs. Tr^wr- 
 tifie\^ a hard Marble, dug up in our Country, 
 partly red and white, of the Quarry of Gre- 
 zanuy as moft People believe ; which Quarry 
 lies about leven Miles from the City. The 
 Work is ruftic, but magnificent, and it muft 
 have been more laborious to have plained 
 and polifhed the Stones here of our Amphi- 
 theatre, than the Travertine of Rome, The 
 Order of all the three Stories is Tufcan-, tho' 
 fome have aflferted, that it may be feen con» 
 fifting of three different Orders. The more 
 finilhed part, namely, the upper Ornaments of 
 the third Story, and the Capitals and Cornifhes 
 of the other two, are of white Marble ; the reft 
 regularly made of red, which doubtlefs muft 
 have afforded a moft entertaining and fym- 
 metrical Profpecl to the Eye ; the inner Stairs 
 and the Steps alfo, may be feen, by what 
 remains, to have been of red Marble. The 
 Stones made ufe of were very large, fince 
 every one of them extends through the whole 
 
 P 2 Breadth
 
 Zil 0/ Amphitheatres.' 
 
 Breadth under the Pilafters, fo as to front 
 both ways; not difpofed regularly, but 
 placed without equality, or the one corre- 
 fponding to the other ; all which we have 
 exaftly reprefented in the Drawing. For 
 this Reafon fome Strangers, perhaps, have 
 been of opinion, that the Architect fliewed 
 but little "^skill therein, imagining that Archi- 
 tefture itfelf confifted chiefly in this. The 
 Rufticity of the Work, together with the Pro- 
 tuberances of the Tufcan Order, feen in fuch 
 a Pile, and of fuch Materials, feems to con- 
 tribute towards Grandeur and Strength. The 
 ancient Manner of not fmoothing the whole 
 Surface of the Stones of the inner Sides, 
 which ought to join, is here obfervable; 
 for they left a wide Border only fmoothcd, 
 the middle part under it was rough, and not 
 fo high as the Edges ; and this either to fave 
 Labour, or becaufe it could not be fo eafy 
 to make them join exactly, if they were 
 pieced together neatly throughout the whole 
 Space j which, however, is not feen in every 
 Point of View. By this Mark, fometimes 
 the Stones of ancient Edifices made ufe of 
 in modern Buildings, may be diftinguifhed, 
 and thereby fome formerly belonging to the 
 Amphitheatre are alfo known: Among the 
 manv others, which, in the Time of the Sea- 
 ligerSj were ufed in the Foundation of the 
 Wall which furrounds the Captain's Garden, 
 thofe of them above ground are Evidences, 
 
 * Diar,It. c.zd, Architecitim mn fmgdms ^retii fuiffe. 
 
 tlut
 
 0/^ Amphitheatres. 115 
 
 that a great number of others have been laid 
 in the Foundation of the forefaid Wall. 
 
 In all this Circuit, and likewife in the in- 
 terior Parts which are of Marble, we never 
 find Lime or Mortar made ufe of, but the 
 Stones placed one above another without any- 
 kind of Cement, and yet are pieced together 
 in a very nice manner, clalpcd at the Top 
 of the Arches with Pivots or Nails, and in 
 the upright Parts, with Keys of Iron or Stones 
 left projefting out in what was already built, 
 the better to join them. Such was the antique 
 Way of Building, and how very ancient, is 
 clearly ihewn in a Paflage of ^ Thucydides, 
 who, in delcribing bulky Walls built round 
 about the Tireus by the Advice of 27?^- 
 miftocleSy affirms, that there neither isoas 
 Sand nor Lime made ufe of in them, but 
 large Stones linked together-, and cutfquare ; 
 the exterior ones were clafped together wit h 
 Iron and Lead. In this manner, I think, 
 ought his Words to be underftood. There 
 are many Paflages in the Greek Writers 
 which confirm this Method in Building: 
 Hence, as Fontana aflferts, that the demo- 
 lilhing the Colifeum, by reafon of the Conca- 
 tenation of the Stones and Iron Bracers, 
 became a tough piece of Work to ^ thofe 
 
 9 By this our Author menns the Tamly of Parma, vffho* 
 in order to bmld the FaUce Farnelb, dcmoiifisd part of the 
 Colifium. 
 
 p 3 who,
 
 ZI4 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 who, in not a very remote Age from this, 
 diirobed or demolilhed part of it. Such 
 Ligatures or Cramps of Metal were only- 
 made ufe of in the outer Stones, as we have 
 ieen in the Greek Hiftorian juft now quoted, 
 and confirms ^° Vitruviuss Method, who 
 prefcribed, that the Stones in the Front of 
 Buildings fljou/d be linked together with 
 Lead and Cramps of Iron. From this ufage 
 in the ancient Fabricks, the many Holes 
 feen in the Colifeum, happened to be made 
 in procefs of Time, of which fo many ri- 
 diculous things have been faid, particularly 
 that they either were done by the Hands of 
 the Barbarians, or ferved to have Stakes 
 or Poles placed in them for fupporting Tents 
 at their publick Fairs. The Learned Bifhop 
 Suarejius wrote a Treatife about them, re- 
 conciling fix different Opinions concerning 
 the Reafons why fuch Hollows appear. 
 But we may believe it for certain, that 
 nothing occafioned fuch Holes, but Peo- 
 ples Greedinefs to take away the Metal 
 which linked the Stones to one another. In 
 effecl, Scamozziy in his Book of the Anti- 
 quities of Rome^ affures us, that he knew that 
 the Cramps of Metal in every part of the 
 Coiifeum, were either taken away or at- 
 temrted to be ftolen. But perhaps in the 
 middle Ages, Mettal was more fcarce and 
 dearer than at other times j and perhaps the 
 
 aban-
 
 O/' Amphitheatres. 215 
 
 abandoning that part of the City where the 
 Colileum flood, made it become the Relbrt 
 of Drovers and Shepherds, who from Po- 
 verty and Idlenefs may have been induced 
 to do fuch things. But I fiiipeft fuch mi- 
 lerable Theft as this, was already begun evei> 
 in the time of King Theodoric-, and the Re- 
 proof he gave thole who ' ' robbed Lead and 
 Metal from the Walls of Buildings, may 
 have alluded to this. In the Arch of Sufa 
 the very fame kind of Holes are ktn^ as 
 may be obferved in the Print I have given 
 of it in my Hijioria ^iplomatica, and of 
 the Ads^ where I have caufed fuch Holes 
 to be reprefented as they are. When I was 
 on the :^ot5 being asked what was the 
 meaning of them, as a proof of what 
 I have faid, I made them obferve, how they 
 are always found above the joinings of the 
 Stones, and not feen beyond a certain Height; 
 and becaufe every one there feemed diffident in 
 that Particular, I immediately fent for ChiiTels, 
 and having caufed fuch another Hole to be 
 made in a place of the Building till then 
 untouched, the Keys or Cramps of Metal 
 appeared very foon, which I carried away 
 with me, and keep among my Colleclion of 
 Antiquities. Befides, that the Iron might 
 clafp the better, and be kept free from Ruft, 
 we find it wrap'dover with Lead, by which 
 the above-mentioned Palfages of Thucydides
 
 Ii6 0/ Amphitheatre §• 
 
 and Vitntvitis appear true and are confirmed. 
 Gioan Batttjia Albert i faid, he had obferved 
 in ancient Edifices, that Iron fpoils and 
 lafts a fliort time ; and fo it does, but they 
 prelerved it by the Method juft now men- 
 tioned. The Effeft of fuch a Concatenation 
 is wonderfully well perceived in one of the 
 Wings of our Amphitheatre, which ftiall very 
 loon be confidered \ for there we fee the Stones 
 aloft almoft entirely detached from the o- 
 thersj and hanging without the Appearance 
 of any thing fupporting them : fo likewife 
 one of the upper Pilafters is become very 
 crooked, and removed in fuch a manner from 
 the relt, as to appear ready to fall on thofe 
 who look at it 5 yet fuch an Appearance has 
 it made for feveral Ages, tho' every thing is 
 kept in its place without falling. 
 
 There is one very confiderable Difference to 
 be obferved in the Profile of the outer Walls of 
 the R Oman Amphitheatre and that of Verona^ 
 namely, that in the firft, the Diminution ob- 
 ferved in the Thicknefs of the Wall through- 
 out every Story, inclines towards the Infide, 
 tho' the Wall itfelf is almoil perpendicular : 
 whereas, on the other hand, in that oiVeronUy 
 the Wall always diminifhes on the Infide, 
 and retires and is lelfened but little on the 
 exteriour Surface. Serlio faid, that the di- 
 minilhing towards the Infide, as that of Rome 
 does, gives greater Strength to the Building, 
 and the Effed thereof feems indeed to confirm 
 
 his
 
 Of Amphitheatres, ii^ 
 
 his Aflertion, fince lo great a Part remains 
 of the external Surface in the Roman Am- 
 phitheatre, and fo little in that of Verona, 
 Neverthelefs, the Circuit or outer Round of 
 that of Tola^ which likewife diminilhes on 
 the Infide, is entirely preferv'd, and we fee 
 by the one and the other, that the contrary 
 Method was ufed by the Ancients, and car- 
 ries along with it the Advantage of admit- 
 ting more Space in the higlier Parts : The 
 efteft of which is firft known in the Roof 
 which covers our firft Portico ; fince the Wall 
 thereof is placed wholly on the Thicknefs 
 of the lower Pilaftcrs, which becomes lels 
 in the fecond Story ^ and we lee the fame 
 alio at the Foot of the other Roof above ; 
 fince this likewilc is laid on that Part which 
 leflens in the third. 
 
 CHAP. IIL 
 
 l^he jirfi Circtcit of the Arena. 
 
 TH E Arches of the Arena, or the En- 
 tries around it, were in Number 
 Seventy two ; thofe of the Coltfeum Eighty, 
 by which, and at the fame time from the 
 Meafures of the great Pilafters, and the Wide- 
 ned of the Apertures, we find, that ours of 
 Verona is not fo very much lefs than it, as 
 fome imagine, tho' the wanting of the ex- 
 ternal
 
 il8 0/AmPH1THE ATRES.^ 
 
 ternal Circuit, and fuperb Front in ours, 
 makes it appear fmall, in comparifon of that 
 of Rome. The Arches of the Amphitheatre, 
 fif it was one] at Nimes, are only fixty in 
 Number, as we find in the French Atlas 
 already mentioned. The Arches in that of 
 Captia are faid to have been eighty, but thofe 
 who pretend to have furvey'd it on the fpot, 
 afliire us, that there could not have been fo 
 many, and that it is very difficult at prefent, 
 to determine the precife number of them, 
 and very eafy to make miftakes therein. 
 They affirm the lame about this, as they do 
 in making the Plan of it, with two exterior 
 Portico's, the one near the other, that the 
 Builders firft had a view to make it exadiy 
 like that of Rome , but I fhall not be lb 
 bold as to decide this matter. 
 
 Every Arch has its Number engraven upon 
 it, as is feen in the Print ; a Circumltance 
 never obferv'd before by thofe who have 
 wrote about the Amphitheatre of Rome ; 
 and indeed very ill omitted, fince fuch Num- 
 bers ferve to regulate the coming in and going 
 ^^t of a, yaft multitude of People, in a very 
 .Jhort Ipace of Time, without being crouded, 
 or occafioning the leaft confufion , the Inhabi- 
 tants of different Diftiicls being fo divided 
 and ranged, as to have the particukr Gate 
 afligned them where they were to enter. 
 The like was praftiled even in the Circus, 
 after^the People. .wer-e_diyided into thirty, 
 ■"" * ^ Curias,
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 119 
 
 Curia's^ and every one their Places allotted 
 them by Tarquin, as we read in ^ Halicar- 
 najfeus and Livy, Thefe above-mentioned 
 Numbers are engraven on the Architraves, 
 with the Mark of the Lift they contained : 
 Thole of the i?^;;^/^;^ Amphitheatre, which has 
 thirty one of them remaining, namely, from 
 XXIII, -to Liin, are without any other Or- 
 nament, between the Arcaitrave and the 
 Arch-roof, qr Face of the Arch; for which 
 rcaibn I have ffiewn them fo in my Draught. 
 Of the Stones marked with this Number, 
 placed above the Arches of our Amphi- 
 theatre, but now for the moft part deftroy'd, 
 one of them is ftill feen in the middle Pile 
 of the Bridge delle Navi*^ another in the 
 Gate delle Carozze of Signor Bertoldo Tel- 
 legriniy where for feveral Ages it has ferved 
 for Pofts. 
 
 There remains a part of the Rows of the 
 lower Pillars, under ground, as the Drawing 
 fliews; the Reafbn of this is not, as '' Lipjius 
 imagined [tho* theTruth is,he appears to have 
 been but ill inftrufted in Architedonic Mat- 
 ters] when he writes, that the Earth giving 
 way, fiich great Piles of Building funk with 
 their vaft Weight downwards, in the man- 
 ner we fee them : whereas every one knows, 
 that if any kind of Building does not reft 
 firm and folid where they placed it at firft, 
 
 ^ D. Hal. lib. i. LivJ.z. 
 
 * Amph. ca^. 7. dejident terra cedent e. 
 
 or
 
 110 0/Amphitheatres* 
 
 or if the Foundation fhould give way, they 
 mull of courfe be disjointed, and immedi- 
 ately fall to the ground. So that all this 
 proceeds from the Ground being raifed 
 round about it, according to that fatal DiC- 
 order which happens frequently in Cities, 
 when they don't take precautions againft it ; 
 and this by reafon of Rubbage fallen down, 
 or brought into them. But notwithftanding 
 this, we may, if we pleafe, at prefent have 
 the pleafure to fee one of the great Pilafters 
 of our Amphitheatre uncovered as low as 
 its Bottom, the Earth having been removed 
 on purpofe, which gives us likewife a View 
 of the interior Flooring of the Portico. 
 
 Thele Pilafters from the Floor to the Im- 
 poft, are ten Feet ten Inches in Height ; at 
 the Bottom they have a Pavement above 
 half a Foot high, which comes out near as 
 much more further than the remaining Part, 
 and ferves as a Bafement. The Capital [To 
 was the Impoft of the Arch called, becaule 
 it goes all round] is one Foot eight Inches 
 high, and the Projection eight Inches. The 
 Front of the Pilafters fix Feet three Inches, 
 of which Meafure the Side encreafes fome- 
 thing more than half a Foot. The Counter- 
 front is fomething lefs than an Inch, in the 
 fore Part j fo in proportion it is in the other 
 interior Parts : all of them being made to re- 
 tire or contraft in proportion, as they met 
 towards the Point. The Counter-pilafter, 
 
 or
 
 0/ Amphitheatres.^ Ill 
 
 or the flat Pillar runs from the Foot of it 
 to the Top, and dividing the Capital of the 
 Pilafter, helps to fupport the Architrave; 
 its Breadth is two Feet eight Inches, Height 
 nineteen Foot, of Projedion fomething lels 
 than an Inch, and a Foot and a half in the 
 Capital ; and as there are no Pillars in this 
 Building, I have made no Model, but 
 ufed the fame Meafure of Feet and Inches. 
 In the Roman Amphitheatre, the lower Pi- 
 lafters have fix Feet eight Inches of Front, 
 and in the Middle of them, in place of our 
 Counter-pilafter, a half 2)<?w Pillar, which 
 projeds two Feet eight Inches. The Breadth 
 of the Yoids in the Arches is thirteen Feet. 
 Fontana gives us no other Meafures which 
 make for our purpofe, but thefe ; fo that we 
 ftiall eafily make difpatch. 
 
 The Breadth of the empty Spaces of our 
 Arches, namely, of the four Entries which 
 remain, is eleven Feet eight Inches, tho' not 
 fo in every Place, as ftiall be mentioned 
 elfe where : The Height of the Arch from 
 the Pavement to the Top, is eighteen Feet. 
 As thofe Voids fervcd in place of io many 
 Gates, fo except en the occafion of perform- 
 ing the Shews, they were kept ftiut; 
 and therefore on the Sides of the Pilafters 
 near the Front [as we fee here by the Draught 
 of theSedion] the Cavities appear to be from 
 the Ground to the Capital, almoft a Foot 
 vvide> in which the Grates or Gates were 
 
 placed 5
 
 211 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 placed ; by which it appears they did not 
 open, but on Iblemn Days were taken away 
 all together. The Architrave above the Ca- 
 pitals of the plain Pillars, is 2 Feet high ; 
 next follow^s the Freeze, higher 2 Inches. 
 The one and the other are formed plain and 
 iinpolifhed, from two Falcige, if we may call 
 them fo ^ the lowermoft with its Prominence,, 
 the other goes inward. However, the Cor- 
 nifh is ornamented, and is i Foot 8 Inches 
 high, having as much more of Projeftion. 
 
 Proceeding to the fecond Floor, firftof all 
 there is a Falcia which furrounds it, in height 
 one Foot three Inches 5 above which the Pi- 
 laftersrife 12 Feet 2 Inches j next ate their 
 Capitals, in height i Foot 8 Inches: at the 
 foot of them is a Laftra in cofta, or flattened 
 Stone, let edgew'ays, not ruftic but fmooth, 
 3 Feet 6 Inches high, and 8 Inches thick ; 
 which, by its projeding out two ways, and 
 by the Smoothing and Impreffion made on 
 the Ground, we know it has been continued 
 all around, and lerved as a Parapet and 
 Fence to thofe who may have walked in the 
 Paffage or Covered Way of that Story. The 
 Front or Breadth of the Pilafters is 5 Feet 
 6 Inches, their Side is as much ^ the plain 
 Pillar which they have in the middle is 2 
 Feet I o Inches broad, and projefts 6 Inches, 
 high above the Laftra in Cojia 2 1 Feet 8 
 Inches, its Capital i Foot 8 Inches, the Pi- 
 laftrata or Range of Pilafters, which fupport 
 
 the
 
 I!li!ll!li 
 
 ii i!li: 
 
 
 l!,^f 
 
 Flate VI . 
 
 
 V 
 
 T i i ll iii'l l l i 
 
 l lliili! !l ii i i lilii| i|ii! :i'l 
 
 l'illlllliiliii!liii;iliiiiln!iiiliill:L 
 
 I t 2 3 4- J ^ 
 
 5 9 i. 
 
 S. ..iuetriz^t JT
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, zij 
 
 the Arch, befides the Laftra, are 3 Feet 6 
 Inches, high 8 Feet 8 Inches, broad i Foot 
 3 Inches ^ the Projedion of the Impoft half 
 a Foot, the Height of the Arch 20 Feet % 
 Inches, Breadth of the Void between the 
 Arches 12 Feet 3 Inches, tho' not all of them 
 alike. The Thicknefs of the Vault or Roof 
 below, and the Flooring above, of which 
 we fee the Marks in the Pilafters, amounted 
 to about 2 Feet 2 Inches. The Architrave of 
 this Story is i Foot 7 Inches high, the Freeze 
 I Foot 9 Inches, the Cornifh i Foot 4 Inches, 
 and are of the fame Form with thofe aforefaid. 
 In the third Story, the three Falci^e or 
 Bindings, which ferve as a Parapet, are 5 
 Feet high, the Front of the Pilafters in breadth 
 8 Feet 8, the Side 2 Feet ; the Arch 12 Feet 
 8 Inches high, the Pilaftrata in height 8 Feet, 
 the Impoft I Foot 2, the plain Pillars, per- 
 pendicular above the others, are 4 Feet 4 
 broad ; but we muft remark, that they loofe 
 themfelves from the Capitals of the Pilafters 
 upward, the whole Wall remaining equal ; 
 which cannot be feen by thofe which ftand 
 below, as much on account of the Diftance, 
 as becaufe of the Capital, i Foot 9 Inches ; 
 which, notwithftanding what is above, the 
 Breadth of the Void is 9 Feet 6 Inches 5 the 
 Arch in Front, as made a * Gtifcio^ with 
 Apertures, fovery well proportioned, Semi- 
 circles fo well turned, Stones hollowed in 
 
 * N.IB. GxiCc'io fignifas the Encarpion <>/ Vitruvius, nnd is an 
 Ornament of the Capital of the Ionic Onier, 
 
 fo
 
 114 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 lb maihrly a Manner, and with fuch a de- 
 lightful Harmony of Ornaments, and fo well 
 difpos'd to the Eye, that whoever fees it, 
 at a reafonable Diftance, and as high as 
 is poffible, cannot fatiate themfelves with 
 beholding its Beauty. Of this there is a 
 Yiew in Plate VI. where the upper orna- 
 mented part of this Story is alfo exhibited, 
 which meafures four Foot fix Inches in all, 
 but more of this in the next Chapter. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 T^he upper Ornaments of the Tufcan 
 Order-i never before taken notice 
 of by ArchiteSis. 
 
 TO arrive at a true and perfect Know- 
 ledge of the Architeftonic Parts pre- 
 ferved in the external Circuit of the Amphithe- 
 atre, there remains nothing but to obferve it in 
 great, with all the Meafures of its different 
 Members, together with their Abaci or Dye of 
 the Capital, Fillets, and GuUy all which are 
 reprefented in the 'jth Plate. But the upper 
 Ornaments of the third Story, with the Capi- 
 tals on which they reft, deferve our particular 
 regard, fince we may make thereby a new and 
 important Difcovery, for fupplying the place 
 of a Ceiling, if we may fo call it, which is ftill 
 practifed in Building. When in the Age 1 400, 
 
 the
 
 (^Amphitheatres. 215 
 
 the Study of the Arts and Sciences began to 
 revive in Italy 5 an Elegancy likewife in 
 Architedure, after the ancient Tafte, was at 
 the fame time advancing, and gaining ground 
 by the pains People took to examine the 
 Roman Buildings minutely. The chief Mafters 
 in Architefture having, for the publick good, 
 coUeded from them, and at different Times 
 publiihed the Rules laid down in the Orders, 
 one of their chief Cares was to obferve the 
 Ornaments of the Ancients ; there having 
 been feveral Edifices which had preferved 
 them, and from which they could be learnt. 
 The 'Doric they chiefly came acquainted 
 with, 'Ey examining the Theatre of Mar^ 
 cellusYWSlConiCy from the Temple of For- 
 tuna Virilism the Corinthian^ from the 
 Pantheon of Agrippa ; the Compojite^ from 
 the Triumphal Arch oiTitus^^ and the whole, 
 from Remains here and there to be feen. 
 The Tufcan Order only, was that wherein 
 they were left in the dark, there having been 
 no ancient Edifice found ini?^;;^^, whereon the 
 Ornaments thereof were preferved : For this 
 Reafon fome have believed, that as it was 
 more maffy than the others, it mull therefore 
 have been entirely rough and deprived of 
 every Beauty in the Art 5 moft People affirm- 
 ing, that the Architraves of the Tufcan were 
 of Wood, as if it had been impolfible for any 
 noble Fabrick to be made in that Order. 
 Notwithftanding all this, 'tis my Opinion 
 
 Q^ that
 
 Il6 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 that this Order ought to be inveftigateef 
 with more Care than .the others j not only 
 as it is peculiarly and natively our own, 
 and of Itafyj but the very lirfl: and mdt 
 ancient of any. The Compofite, the laft 
 Order of all, was likewife Italian ; fo that 
 of the five, Greece invented three^, Italy 
 two: of thefelaft, one is the ftrongeft of any, 
 the other the molt ornamented ; the firft 
 paved the way for the others, the laft put 
 a Boundary to the Art. Befides, the Tafcan 
 deferved to be more ftudied than the others, 
 becaufe therein is comprehended more than 
 is commonly believed, nor did it confift of 
 one Manner only. I learn from - Vitruvius^ 
 where he makes mention of the different 
 kinds of the Tufcan^ that there were Ibme 
 who tranfpoled the Difpofitions of the Tufcan 
 Pillars into the Ionic and Corinthian : how- 
 ever, he did not reckon the Tufcan among 
 the three Greek Orders, nor the Compofite 
 either:, nor in treating of the other Pillars, 
 does he ipeak of the Tufcan : he rather fpoke 
 of the Tufcan Ufage, with regard to the 
 Kftribution of their Temples, which as to 
 the Symmetry of the ornamented Parts, we 
 may here conclude that they were varioufly 
 compofed 
 
 Leon Battifta Albert i the Florentine^ who 
 was the firft after the Ages of the Ancients 
 that publifhed a full and learned Treatife 
 
 3 Z/.4. c. 7. de Tufcanich gemrikHs. 
 
 I about
 
 0/ AmPHI THE ATRES. 22, "7 
 
 about ArChitedure, in his feventh Book de- 
 fcribes the Ornaments of the other four Or- 
 ders, but fpofce nothing about the TitfcaUy 
 and indeed, did not reckon it among the 
 Orders. Nor is there any Miftake made in 
 the Tranflation of his Book, which, by di- 
 viding it into Chapters, in the Argument pre- 
 fixed to the- eighth Chapter of the feventh 
 Book fays, that there he treats of the Capi-* 
 tal of the Tufcan'^ tho* afterwards, when 
 he fpeaks of the Comijojtte^ the Arguments 
 made ufe of there are not in the original 
 Latin of the Author, printed after his death 
 at Florence^ in the Year 1485; where, on 
 the other hand, in the foregoing Chapter, 
 the vulgar Verlion has it, that the Tulcans 
 adopted into their Capitals all the Orna- 
 ments they could find. The Latin fays, 
 that the Italians did the like ; by this- he 
 means the Capital of the Compofite or Roman 
 Order. Some other Writers hav6 bred a 
 Confufion therein, particularly Vafari^ who 
 fays, that the Roman or Compofite Order 
 was found out by the TufcanSy and calls the 
 Tufcan by the Mame of the Rufitck Order. 
 T>amvl Barbaro, in his noble Tranflation 
 .and Illuftraiion of Vitruvius, treated almoft 
 of every thing fully, but did not enter upon 
 the upper ^ornamented Parts of the Tufcan^ 
 his Author having mentioned nothing con- 
 cerning It. Baliian SerliOy however, gave 
 us its Form; tho' the whole was the Pro^uft 
 
 0,2 of
 
 ZlS 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 of his own Invention and Fancy ; nor, indeed> 
 had he great Succefs therein. Vhilander^ 
 a Difciple of Serlio^ being called into France 
 by Francis I. carried Architecture with him 
 beyond the Alps : In illuftrating Vitruvius 
 he endeavoured likewife to ihew all the 
 Parts of the Tufcan Order, but took it nei- 
 ther from his Author, nor had the Autho- 
 rity of any ancient Edifice to fupport it. 
 Barozzi from VignoUy con fe fled candidly, 
 that in this part he had made ufe of his own 
 Imagination, becaufe he fays, he had not 
 found any of the Tufcan Ornaments among 
 the Antiquities of Rome, by isuhich he could 
 form a Rule in that^ as he cotdd in the 
 other four Orders. For which Reafon 
 ^ Charnbray in his Book fays, that fince 
 Architefts could not find any Example a- 
 mong the Ancients, of the upper ornamented 
 part of the Tufcan Order, he does therefore, 
 he fays, not regard their Inventions. And 
 yet for all this, ic is certain, that thofe Matters 
 might eafily have fupplied that Want, and 
 have been able with good ground, to have 
 fhevvn what the true Ornaments of the Tuf 
 ca?i were, if they had but confidered our 
 Arena more accurately, than what they have 
 done 5 for in the third Story thereof it is to 
 be feen intirely well preferved, and elegantly 
 executed. In reading Andrea Talladios firft 
 Book, where he fays .he took the Coun- 
 
 terpoife

 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 119 
 
 terpoifeof the Architraves^ Freeze undTuf- 
 €an Gornifh, from the Arena of Verona 5 I 
 immediately thought that he alone had hit 
 the Mark : but oblerving that after this he 
 fhews an Architrave without Members, a 
 Freeze without polifhing, a Cornifh with o- 
 ther Parts, and the Whole with various Mea- 
 fures: I then perceived that he too, becaufc 
 of the Narrownels of the Street where the 
 Building Hands, negleded, as Well as the 
 others, toobferve the uppermoft Story, which 
 alone delerved moft to have been confider'd ; 
 fo that he governed himfelf entirely, by only 
 remarking the two Stories below, and even 
 thole he perhaps mixed with what he had feen 
 in other Buildings, from which, he fays, he 
 had likewile taken it. Scamoz'i^ who la- 
 boured on the Tufcan Order, according to his 
 own Fancy, pretended he had taken the 
 whole from the Remains of ancient Buildings • 
 but in our Amphitheatre he might have feen 
 it entire and v/ell executed, and fo might 
 have learned thereby not to have put the 
 Heads of his Beams in his Freeze. 
 
 But leaving the two lower Stories where 
 the Architraves and Freeze are formed by 
 two ruffic Fafci£^ as the reft are, we may 
 firft obfervc, that the Capital, by which the 
 higheft Architrave is fupported , contains 
 twice as many Parts as the others, with a 
 rounding and ftrait Gtila between two Re- 
 verfes. 
 
 a 3 The
 
 ZjO of AlMPHlTKBATJlES. 
 
 The Aichitrave is next divided into four 
 Parts, two Stories, a Re verfe-, Gtila^ and a Lift. 
 We may fee a Piece of this when we look 
 ncar^ in the Tower called dellOrgoglio^ of 
 the iold Galtle, contiguous to the Arch de 
 GaVii^ w'h^re the jargeft Stones there, were 
 almoft all taken from the outer Circuit of 
 the Amphitheatre.' The Freeze is fimple, 
 but Ihiooth and polifned ; and from this Or- 
 der it would feem, that the jD^r/V of the 
 Cdifeuni has been taken. . Next follows the 
 Cornilh, confifting likewife of a double num- 
 ber, of Members more than what are in the 
 otiiers, extremely welldifpofed,v/ith a Water- 
 fpout, as ^appears by the Draught. This is the 
 Manner in which the Ornaments of the Tttfcan 
 Order were divided, and very different from 
 thofe of the. pther Orders, tho' more Iblid, 
 noble, and fymmetrical. Some, I doubt not, 
 will however not allow thefe upper Orna- 
 ments to be any thing, elfe h\Mi)oric\ and 
 if Ho, the- pretended difcovery of the Tttfcan 
 Order would fall- to the ground. But who- 
 ever obferves the two Stories below, will 
 be of a dilTerent Opinion; for from them we 
 rgiay very iafely x:pnclude, that the upper 
 Stqries can be.notijJng elfe bixtTufcany fince 
 the Stories of any Building -muft either be 
 all of difTerent Orders, or of one. kind only, 
 i In the Col^finmj'xistxuQj every one of them 
 tirt differentj and in the S^ttiztmio or feven 
 Zon^ of Se-veruSy they are all Corinthim^ 
 y~'\ "Da-
 
 0/^ Amphitheatres, i^i 
 
 Tfavtkr^ a Modern, and 2^ French Man, in 
 his Courfe of Architecture, or rather Tranfla- 
 tion and Commentary on ^^;?^/^, affirms, there 
 is no ancient Monument, in which the regu- 
 lar Ttifcan Order can be found, and that the 
 Amphitheatres of Verona^ Tola^ and NimeSy 
 are too ruftic to ferve for a Rule to the Tuf- 
 caUy fo as to give it a place among the other 
 Orders. Blondel^ another French-m'm^ on 
 the contrary, who has wrote a Courfe of Ar- 
 chite£lure on Vitruvius, Tdlcid'w^ Vignola^ 
 and Scamozio^ called our three Orders of Pi- 
 lafters 'Doric, So that tho' they w^ere rufticfc, 
 they appeared to him to be more than Tufcan^ 
 if I may lay fo, and more ornamented than 
 what they are. But I cannot well under- 
 ftand, how any Mortal, efpecially an Ar- 
 chiteft, can [_from unpoliilied Stones, grown 
 brown and rough with age] j^^dge any piece 
 of Architefture to be bad ; on the contrary, 
 it would be better, if he had imagined that 
 fuch a majeftick, regular, and fymmetrical 
 Edifice ought to be reckoned among thofe 
 not made by chance, but conceived accord- 
 ing to fome kind of Order or another : io 
 that I think, all that Daviler would fay, 
 is, that Amphitheatres have no Order of Ar- 
 chitecture in them at all. Befides, this Gen- 
 tleman condem.ns the making Bugne^ as we 
 call them ; namely, round Knobs, Trotu- 
 bermces [or Bozze^ according to the Tufcan^ 
 Way of expreffing it] in the Stones of the 
 0^4 Pilafters,
 
 232r Of Amphitheatres- 
 
 Pilafters, wliich he fays breed confufion, 
 and makes it lofe his Form. Hence he greatly 
 condemns the Architedure of the Amphi- 
 theatre of Verona^ where he would have 
 thefe Bozze or Knobs, to be only placed 
 in the Body of the Building, not in the Pi- 
 lafters ; but if fo, I think it would produce 
 a fhocking Difagreement to the Eye, and the 
 whole lofe a great deal of its Grandeur. But the 
 marvellous Man did not think fit to obferve, 
 that this is a Building.the whole exterior Part of 
 which confifts only of Pilafters and Arches. 
 What regards the Form of the Order being 
 loft by fuch a Rufticity in the Work, asap- 
 pear'd likewife to Chambray 5 thefe able 
 Men might eafily have known their Error, 
 if [abftrafting from the two lower Stories, 
 which likewife are regular and well under- 
 ftood, and befides their Capitals and Cor- 
 nifties, which are furely not en bojfage] they 
 had lifted their Eyes up to the Top of the 
 Ala or Flat, were they would have feen 
 the upper ornamented Part fo elegant, and 
 well conduced, that any who fliould de- 
 clare he did not relifti it, muft have himfelf 
 a very dull Tafte in fuch Things. And tho' 
 the Narrownefs of the Street on that fide 
 of the Amphitheatre, does in a great 
 meafure deprive People of the Pleafure of 
 viewing it to advantage ; that does not how- 
 ever hinder Strangers, who are Lovers of lb 
 fine an Art; to be conduced to a certain 
 
 high
 
 of Amphitheatres. 135 
 
 high Window, tho' of a mean Hoafe, a 
 little diftant from it : for there the fine Arches 
 of the third Story, with all the higher 
 Ornaments, furnifh him with an agreeable 
 View 5 the whole confifting of elegant and 
 perfeft Architedure. 
 
 *T>eJgodetZy who named no particular Or- 
 der as fubfifting in this Fabricfc, in his laft 
 Plate, fhews the Trojile in large, of all the 
 Parts which we have been hitherto defcri- 
 bing ; and in fome of them he correfted Ser-- 
 liOy whofe Miftakes perhaps, in Ibme of the 
 Members, are owing to the Engraver, in re- 
 prefenting Things wrong. I am aftoniflied 
 that neither the one nor the other Ihould ib 
 much as refled, that here they had the 
 true Compofition of the Ttifcan Order : But 
 the Care and Induftry of T>efgodetz was 
 here not fufficient, in endeavouring to repre- 
 fent the Truth fully. The Impoft in the 
 firft Order is right, as is likewife the Capi- 
 tal of the Counter-pilafters, or plain Pillars, 
 which he calls Pilafters j but that wherein 
 he fails, is in placing a kind of Bafement under 
 the Freeze, which is not in the Building it 
 felf, nor indeed has ever been there. 
 
 There is a fmali Difference in the Meafurc 
 of the Members or Parts of the Cornifh ; in 
 the higher Order, the Impoft of the Arch 
 has not that Story below, nor that Difpofi- 
 tion of the Meafures, the two higher GtiU 
 being alnioft equal. The Architrave like- 
 wife.
 
 2, j4 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 wife, does not occafion the Fafcise to be fo 
 narrow, which would take away from its 
 Gracefulnefs ; nor does it caufe the reverfe 
 Guise to appear exceedingly narrow, which 
 would have a mighty bad Effeft too, but 
 has all the three Members or Parts very near 
 ^qual. The Cornifh, according ioT) efgodetz^ 
 has a different Proportion of the Members, 
 as may be obferved by comparing it with 
 the other, and not very well correfponding 
 v/ith the ancient Manner ; nor is there any 
 'thing like a Drain for Water to be feen. 
 
 The fourth Story might perhaps be more 
 ornamented, was Ibmething added to the 
 Freeze. Tv/o large Pieces of the Fabric, 
 which appear to have been parts of the great 
 Windovv^s, are fiiil to be feen near the Am- 
 '^hitheatre 5 one of which has been made ule 
 of in building up a modern Wall under the 
 Gallery in the middle ; the other that Itood 
 above, lies in the Porch of the fecond Story. 
 The Height whereon the fecond,whichisvaft- 
 ly great, had lodged, ihev/s that it had fallen 
 from the higheft part of all ; in thefe we fee 
 that the great Windows had a Border round 
 them, which is not in the Amphitheatre of 
 Romey and that the Traverle above was Ibme- 
 thing like an Arch. But further, a Piece of 
 an ancient Architrave had lain for a long time 
 a few Paces from the Amphitheatre, which 
 -at preient I order'd to be brought within the 
 Building i and digging in the Situation of the 
 
 external
 
 of Amphitheatres, ijjj 
 
 external Circuit, two Fragments of the Cornifh 
 were found, which fit fuch an Architrave 
 extremely well. The Order in thele is Com- 
 pofite, and the Parts and Workmanftiip in- 
 tirely like that of Titus ^ Arch. We can- 
 not imagine that they are Remains of the 
 Top of the Building ; firft, becaufe, as we 
 have faid a little before, the tvv^o lower Stories 
 fliew of what Order even the upper ones have 
 been. Secondly, becaufe fuch Carvings 
 would not have been fuitable to fo vaft a 
 Height, nor have agreed with the reft. Tm 
 therefore much more inclinable to believe, 
 that thofe parts belong 'd to the Veftibule of 
 the principal Gate, in which Situation they 
 were alio dug up ♦ of which we fliall fpeak 
 in its due place. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 That the Statues mention d /^Ligorio 
 are fabulous. 
 
 Efore I leave treating about the outer 
 ^^^^ Circuit, I find it convenient to Ipeak 
 of the Statues, afferted by fome to have been 
 round the Amphitheatre. Ligorto, in his 
 Draught, places one before every fquare 
 Pillar of the third Story ; which, becaufe of 
 the Beauty of the thing, it was enough to 
 make it well received by eyery body , in 
 
 fo
 
 lj6 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 fo much, that no Drawing of the Amphi- 
 theatre has fince that time been made, with- 
 out Statues. Such a Reprefentation ftruck 
 Peoples Fandes fo much, that without the 
 like Figures, many think Amphitheatres 
 are nothing at all. Nay, by way of 
 emulating our Arena, Statues are now ex- 
 hibited too, in the Prints of other Amphi- 
 theatres. And yet for all this, it is un- 
 doubtedly certain, that Statues neither were, 
 ought to have been, nor could have been 
 there ; nor is it a little derogatory from the 
 true Idea of Architedure, to make people 
 believe that the Ancients placed Statues in 
 fuch a ridiculous manner, viz^. on the out- 
 lide of fuch a Building, and before Walls 
 or Pilafters, without any Niches, and above 
 the Projection of a Cornifh, which had not 
 Subllance or Strength fufRcient to fupport 
 them, and where they could not have had 
 room to ftand, unlefs they had been fix times 
 lefs than what the Diftance would require. 
 Moreover, our obferving no fuch Statues to 
 have been ever placed on the Amphitheatre of 
 Rome^ [which was a Work much more fump- 
 tuous and ornamented than ours, and in which 
 City there were fo great a Number of Sculp- 
 tures] was enough to convince us, that none 
 ever were on the Amphitheatres of the Alti- 
 nicipia^ and at a diftance from Rome. I own, 
 'tis true, Figures are reprefented in Medals 
 on the lecond and third Stories of the Go- 
 
 lifeum,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 137 
 
 Hfeum, but thefe only within the Voids and 
 below the Arches, where they might have 
 had a Place f^j^t not in the Situation 
 where they Eave placed Statues on our 
 Amphitheatre. Nay, I believe it very pro- 
 bable, that thofe Figures on the Medals, do 
 not reprefent Statues of Marble or Metal, 
 except perhaps thofe above the princi- 
 pal Entry ; and whatever is reprefented in 
 other Places, I take to be nothing elfe but 
 counterfeited Ornaments, which may have 
 been made of Wood or Canvas, and placed 
 occafionally on the Days when their folenm 
 Shews were to be exhibited, denoting a 
 Feftival, and ranged by way of adorning, 
 or fetting forth the Building, or to do ho- 
 nour to the Perfon who may have given the 
 Game. 
 
 I am confirmed in this Conjefture, for 
 having in Turin found the Abbot Filippo 
 Juvara of MeJJina of the fame Opinion ; 
 an Architeft that fupports the Honour of 
 this Age, and fets it upon a Level with 
 thofe of Antiquity ; and it is manifcftly cer- 
 tain, by all the Obfervations made at RomCy 
 in the fame Situation of the Amphitheatre, 
 that never have any Veftiges appeafd, or the 
 leafl: Remain of Pedeftals or Bafes, or any 
 kinds of Statues been dug up in that Part. 
 Hence it is, perhaps, that the fame Medal of 
 Titus^ of a middle fize, exhibited by me, 
 has not the Appearance of any fuch Fi- 
 gures
 
 2j8 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 gures upon it. 'Tis alfo for this realbn, 
 that in the different Medals we have, thofe 
 Figures are different alio. Befides, whexeas 
 ^ in the fourth Story of the Golifeum, we fee 
 ' Windows alternately fquared in the Medals, 
 yet we find the intermediate Spaces not bare, 
 as they are in the Fabric, but filled up with 
 certain roundilh Figures, which appear like 
 Shields 5 nor could they have been any thing 
 elfe, but counterfeited Oinaments, to be 
 placed or taken away, juft as occafion re- 
 quired. In the high Machine defcribed by 
 * Herodian^ and made ufe of at the Deifica- 
 tion of the Emperors ; he relates that va- 
 rious Pictures afid Figures of Ivory were 
 placed around it : and in the Medal of 
 Antonintis^ we fee that, together with the 
 Machine, there is reprefented a Statue at the 
 Top ; and yet it is moft certain that this Sta- 
 tue was not of Marble, or Metal, fince it 
 muft have been wholly burnt and reduced 
 to Afhes on that occafion. The Theatre 
 v/as the propereft Place for Statues, and yet 
 neither that OiTompey^ nor the others, had 
 durable Statues placed on the outfide of them. 
 Father ^ Montfaucon^ in his T>iarmm Ita- 
 licum^ and alio in his Coiledion of Antiqui- 
 ties, places a great Number of Images round 
 the Amphitheatre of Capita^ which Build- 
 ing (according to that much-efteemed Wri- 
 ter) was attended with better Fortune than 
 
 * Hereof an, lib. 4. ^ Cd^, 21. 
 
 what
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 259 
 
 what is common to other Things in Italy:, 
 and fo tells, that above the Epiftyh'a, or 
 Chapiters of the Pillars of the undermoft 
 Story, the Heads of the Gods are ftill re- 
 maining: Above the fecond Floor the Gods 
 themfelves from the Navel upward : Above 
 the third, the Statues of thole Divinities. 
 At the fame time he obferves, that fuch Or- 
 naments were wanting in the Roman Coli- 
 feuniy and adds, what a fine Sight it is to 
 fee in one fingle Round or Circuit, the whole 
 Affembly of the antient Deities, in their 
 true Form and Likenefs. 'T would feem by 
 all this, as if that Author believed, theEpi- 
 ftylia or Chapiters of the Pillars, in every dif- 
 ferent Order, did extend in fuch a manner, as 
 that in the tirft place, they ftiould contain the 
 Figures as far as their Breaft, then with their 
 whole Bafto, next their whole Length : But 
 this, I own, is a very new and uncommon 
 Method, and the firft time we ever heard 
 that Bufts and Statues ftood upon the Cha- 
 piters of the Pillars ; becaufe if you will by 
 that Word Eptjiylhim^ either underftand the 
 Architrave, as we have reafon to imagine it, 
 and in the Senfe that VitmvmsvX^siX:'^ or 
 the Capitals, as others underftand it, and 
 commonly explain it falfely j 'tis in my O- 
 pinion, a very diverting Story, to hear that 
 Statues refted o\\ Architraves, put under Free- 
 zes, or on Capitals under Architraves. In 
 the Bod< of Les Antiqtiitez Expliqttes^ or 
 
 Anti"
 
 240 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Antiquities Explained^ 'tis faid that theft 
 Things rejied upon every Miliary but that 
 the half Pillars all around had the Archi- 
 trave laid upon them ; it is not lefs divert- 
 ing to think, that becaufe they had a Place 
 for 80 Figures there, that that was the Rea- 
 Ion why they ftiould reprcfent the Gods in 
 that Place, as if the Romans \ had juft lb 
 many principal and common Divinities to 
 be ranged in the fame Rank. The truth 
 IS, that in the two lower Arches remaining 
 there are upon every one of the Keys of 
 the Arches a Face cut in Relievo, with the 
 beginning of the Buft; nor bad the higher 
 Orders any more upon them : For we may 
 fee the Arches in the Colifeum werej^xaftly 
 alike too, in all the four Story s. 
 
 There are Ibme who from the forefaid 
 Defcription have been induced to affert, that 
 abundance of Buftos and Niches were alio 
 in the Colifeum, placed above the Inner En- 
 tries, tho' of thefe there is not the leaft Vc- 
 ftige remaining, nor indeed can a proper 
 Place be affigned there for fuch Ornaments. 
 
 But to return to our Statues: Some Plinths, 
 or rather Dyes,feen upon the fecond Cornifhat 
 the Foot of the plain Pillars, gave rife to that 
 common Miftake, as appears by the Draught : 
 But thefe are fo minute, that had they been 
 taken for Figures, they muft have been very 
 fmall indeed, when at that Height, they 
 ought to have been Goloffus's, lupported 
 
 with
 
 with large PedeftaJs, and a Caviiy in the 
 Wall for receiving them. Nor can I imagine 
 that 70 of liich great Statues could have 
 been fo very much annihilated^ but that a 
 great many>pieces of them mall ftill befeen, 
 and dug up from time to time. If any fhould 
 ask for what Ufe the formentioned Plinths 
 ferved, I anfwer, in the firfl: place, that I 
 have obferv'd a Iquare Hole in the middle 
 of every one of them, in which a piece of 
 Wood may have been fixed with another 
 Cavity before, as is marked in the Drawing ; 
 which laft fer\'*ed by way of a Spout for the 
 Difcharge of the Water : From which we 
 may gather, that the laid Void was not al- 
 ways full nor covered. I have alfo remarked, 
 how other fuch kinds of Dyes were likevvile 
 above the third Cornifh, two of them being 
 ftill to be feen at the foot of the iquare Pil- 
 lars of the uppermoil Story ; and we may- 
 believe it for certain, that they have beea 
 hollowed, not in the middle, bat near the 
 Wall, on puipofe that the Beams might be 
 placed on, and reft in them, which boring 
 the uppermolt Cornifn, ferved for the Vela- 
 rium. The like J have obierved at Vo/ay 
 where, in the lame Situation. Stones are feen 
 exaftly fimilar, with a Hole above, joining 
 to the Hollow of the Wail. But of thole 
 in our Amphitheatre, which are on the fecond 
 Gornifli, and with the Hole in the middle, • 
 I cannot make any other Conjedure about 
 R them^
 
 i4i O/Amphitheathes. 
 
 them, but that on the days when they ex- 
 hibited their Shews, and when the People 
 affembled together in the Amphitheatre, they 
 may have very probably planted Standards, 
 Trophies, Images of Pafteboard, Figures, 
 and other fuch Ornaments^ the whole allu- 
 ding to the Solemnity. 
 
 CHAP. VL 
 
 Plan of the Buildings the PaJfageSj 
 and Ingrefs to the Area. 
 
 BEing willing to proceed in the Defcrip- 
 tlon, I firft of all think fit to Ihew the 
 general Plan ; I alfo give that of the Coli- 
 ieum by Fontana^ T>efgodetz^ and others, 
 which we may almoft fufped was more 
 taken from Serlio than from Truth, and 
 which, in the Sequel of this Treatife will 
 appear : as alfo how many Errors have been 
 hitherto committed in their treating of the 
 Amphitheatre, will ftill be more evident, 
 when we come to fpeak of the fecond Story. 
 Gur own Plan has as much with regard to 
 the Ground-Plot, as that of the higher Parts, 
 being altogether taken from the Truth ftill 
 fubfifting \ nor could the fame Story in that 
 of Rome be different in the general Diftii- 
 bution of its Parts. In both the Draughts I 
 have added an Arcade, raifed more than the 
 
 half,
 
 iV.i^c VJII
 
 
 'i%£s mil 
 
 ■ ■■■ ■ I— ■ 
 
 
 \1 
 
 7^ 
 
 ''®'7«i8®,>a^<'t i a ® s ® 
 
 ^^^ iiiu!>
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 243 
 
 half, that thereby we may fee the Effed of 
 the middle Paffage crofs-ways. By our 
 Draught we know what it really was, and 
 by that of Rome in what manner they have 
 imagin'd it to have been. The whole is 
 formed together, as is leen by the four En« 
 clofures and the three elliptical covered Ways. 
 By the Enclofure I underftand the Place built 
 between the one Void and the other ; that 
 of Rome was exaftly the like, only the lat- 
 ter was doubled on the outfide with ?.n ad- 
 ditional Portico, having two in all, and the 
 one near the other, fupported above the 
 Arches, and divided by fquare Pilafters. 
 
 Altho' in this Chapter our fole Intention 
 is to treat of the Paffages which led into the 
 Area, 'tis however neceflary that we Ihould 
 fliew, that the inner Enclofure confiftsofa 
 Wall, quite Iblid, 15 Foot thick, which had 
 the lowermoft Steps and the Podium refting 
 upon it y and as the fix Apertures on each 
 fide, which is in it, did not lead into the 
 Area, bat by four fmall inward Steps, every 
 one of which is eight Inches high, by thele 
 they afcended to the Podium, which in rifing, 
 formed the fifth Step. There is one of thole 
 Paflages, wherein the ancient fmall Steps are 
 prefcrved entire, with that Laftra or flat 
 Stone, which, within the Thicknefs of the 
 Wall, forms the Flooring before it. We after- 
 wards remark, that the two Paflages in the 
 middle, crofs-ways, are neither larger than 
 R 2 the
 
 244 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 the other common Stairs, nor do they leadinto 
 the Field s on the contrary, proceeding be- 
 tween two Walls, they tern)inate in the interior 
 VoniCo, and have the Wall in Front : fo that 
 whoever came by them, muft have afcended 
 to the Podium by one of the two neareft 
 Apertures. Undoubtedly it was the lame in 
 the Roman Amphitheatre, for the Reafons 
 ftievvn in the Sequel; fo that only, in the 
 Spaee--Tvi}idi is from the-i&r^._^,^£^^ 
 
 thij;d_EmXicp^,_CQuld,jlbia.te Pilafters have 
 Been, and a Communication'or thr-three Paf- 
 fages, as is ufual to be fiiewn in Draughts. 
 On the other hand, the interior Enclofure 
 has two Apertures at the Extremes of the 
 Oval, much larger than the others. By 
 digging there I found the Leaves of the 
 Doors which led into the Area, and I have 
 feen the great and large Flagfiones of the 
 Pavement, marked on the outfide here and 
 there, and furrov/'d, probably by Iron-Grates, 
 which may have opened and fhut. I like- 
 wife found, that the two lateral Doors to 
 both thofe inner Gates, led alfo into . the 
 Area, fince infiead of linall Steps, or Marks 
 of them, and of the Pavement before, they 
 all have a fufpended Laftra, which continues 
 the Length of the Wall, and from which, 
 with a Defcent no more than the Depth of 
 one Step, they cam.e down on the Floor of 
 the Area. 
 
 The
 
 of Amphitheatres. 245 
 
 The exterior Arches, and the firft cbr- 
 refpondent, in a ftreight Line with thole two 
 Gates, and marked with the Numbers I. and 
 XXXVIL v/ere wider than any of the others; 
 the two Paflages in which we came thorough 
 them are likewife more fpacioiis; and what 
 is remarkable, they don't turn* narrow like 
 the others, which proceed to a Point, but 
 always keep up to the fame Breadth, even to 
 their Entry or firft Opening. After pafling 
 by the Arches of the covered Way, in the 
 middle,it v/ould appear as li m the Walls there 
 were the Marks of a Wicket or Door, by 
 which every body elfe but the Actors feem 
 to have been hindered from coming forward, 
 and which was opened afterwards when the 
 Shew^s began. Above the Arch of the ex- 
 terior Entrance, which at prefent fubfifts and 
 makes one of the Gates, a Wall rifes, in 
 which there was a large W^indow, altered 
 at prefent by thole who repaired the Fa- 
 bric. 
 
 The Ceiling above, for the length of 1 5 
 Feet, is plain 5 then it continues throughout 
 at its full Height in the manner of a hang- 
 ing Vault, having nothing in the upper part 
 but the Steps, and has projected much more 
 than it does at prefent fince the latter Re- 
 parations which have been made, that, and the 
 out-jetting Window added above the En- 
 tries, hinder from feeing how it exaftly was 
 ^t firft. The four ifolated Pilafters, which 
 R 3 • a^^
 
 24^ of Amphitheatres. 
 
 are feen on each fide in thefe Streets, are 
 arched above 5 but we muft confider, that the 
 Walls which at prefent enciofe thefe Pila- 
 fters are modern, and made for the ufe of the 
 Rooms which are feparately rented out in thole 
 parts : however, if they were thrown down, 
 and fnut up by Grates, thofe places would 
 ferve equally well for the laying up Wood 
 in them, and thereby the Noblenefs of the 
 ancient Entry appear. 
 
 In returning outwards through the four 
 lateral Arches, two on each fide of the great 
 one, we enter into an equal number of open 
 Paffages, which have a Communication with 
 that in the middle, having, one with ano- 
 ther, four Pilafters ifolated alfo : Thefe Paf- 
 fages ended in the fecond Portico, their 
 Roofs are in the form of a Semi-circle, and 
 much lower than that in the middle, and 
 proceed horizontally. The precife Bread ih 
 of all thefe Paffages will be underftood when 
 we ftiall Ipeak of their Arches of Entrance : 
 But above all 'tis remarkable, that their 
 oval Figure tending to render them defeftive, 
 by contracting or making them narrower as 
 they go along, to avoid this, the fagacious 
 Architect has contrived the moft confpicuous 
 one to be always of the fame Breadth, 
 making all the Imperfection fall in the two 
 neareft lateral Arches, the two laft Pilafters 
 cf which are feen very near to one another ; 
 bat the Defect even in them feems almoft quite 
 
 hid.
 
 0/^Amphitheatres. Z47 
 
 hid, becaufe they do not terminate in the 
 cnlightned part of a Void, but in a Wall 
 where there is but very little Light. 
 
 Certain ftreight Paflages, as we perceive, 
 correlpond with the exterior Arches, which 
 continue very near to one another on both 
 fides : Thefe Paflages going by the Portico's 
 and all the Rounds, between Wall and Wall, 
 lead into the Area, and give an Entrance 
 into it, by the open Doors we have ibme time 
 ago mentioned ; inlbmuch, that the exterior 
 Arches at the two Ends of the Oval, were in 
 number feven on each hand, by which thofe 
 who were to perform in the Field paffed j 
 nor had they therein any other Entrance, 
 but by the three on each fide hinted at. 
 All this is indubitable, and may be made 
 evident to every one that looks on it. 
 
 We may very well perceive, by what is 
 already faid, what an imperfe6l: Idea People 
 have till now had of Amphitheatres ; for 
 the interior Circuit of that of Rome is repre- 
 fented by Fontana only as a thin Wall, 
 notwithftanding, in a certain manner, it 
 ferved as a Foundation to all the upper Steps. 
 This fame Fontana^ Ltpfius^ T>efgodetZy 
 Terault and others, have believed that the 
 Doors below, all around the Amphitheatre, 
 ferved as Inlets to the Area or open Space 
 in the middle i which, if fo, would in a very 
 improper manner have been to affign the 
 fame Paflages to the Speftators in general, 
 R 4 an4
 
 14^ 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 and the Adors too, and a fhutting up of every 
 kind of Accefs to the moft noble Place of 
 any, namely, the Todium^ which had no 
 other Entries. 
 
 The two Arches at the Ends of the Oval, 
 are reprefented by the forefaid Authors to 
 be almoft of the fame Breadth with the o- 
 thers, when in fad, there is almoft one third 
 part of difference ; and it has not been re- 
 marked, that thofe two alone do not pro- 
 ceed to a Point. 
 
 •They have likewife erroneoufly ftiewn, 
 that the two diametrical Paffages crofs-ways, 
 were greater than the others, and that they 
 terminated in the Field* tho', by digging, 
 'tis found, that the interior Circuit has not, 
 on either fide, had any Aperture at all. For 
 /tis evident, that ihe middle Palfage, broad- 
 ways, was fit for accommodating the Emperor 
 and the other People of Rank, as being that 
 which was the neareft to the beft Situation 
 of any for feeing ; but not for the Entry of 
 thofe, with whofe Appearance in the ex- 
 treme parts of the Theatre, they fought to 
 heighten the Entertainment. 
 
 In fine, 'tis beiiev'd, that there was but 
 one only Pantry at the end of the Oval, and 
 that it was not broader than the diametrical 
 tme ciofs-ways ; and that there was not the 
 Adjacency of two Entries on each fide, which 
 render'd it fo magnificent: when, befides 
 Other Reafons; fuch a Widenefs was neceflary, 
 '^^''^- and
 
 of Amphitheatr Es. 149 
 
 and even double Entries too, becaule of the 
 Pomp and Appearance with which Ibmetimes 
 Gladiators came into the Area, and made a 
 fine Shew before they fought. 
 
 But that it was fo in fa£t, w^e may firft 
 of oair learn from "^ Tliny^ where he fays, 
 that on a certain occafion C£far cauled all 
 hi& Equipage for the Arena to be made of 
 Silver, and which was carried before him 
 there in a pompous manner, '^'liny in this 
 place fays alio, that then for the iSrfl: time 
 might the Wild-Beafts be ieen puihed on to 
 fight w^ith Implements of that Metal. But 
 I cannot help lamenting that laft miferable 
 Period, where, if I may be permitted to fay, 
 in the late pompous Edition, the true Text 
 has, without any reafon at all, been not 
 a little changed. I may fay the fame of 
 another PafTage there, for where the word 
 Vafis is put into the Text, the true Reading 
 ihould perhaps be Armts 5 becaufe the fame 
 Tliny in another place ^ fays, that in one of 
 Nero's Games, the Arms and Equipage were 
 of Amber. When Fabius Vdens celebrated 
 a gladiatory Game m Bologna^ he cauled the 
 whole Equipage to be brought from Rome^ 
 as we learn from ^ Tacitus, But in the 
 Amphitheatres, nay, perhaps in the Begin- 
 ning, ibme kind of Pomp may have been in- 
 troduced in imitation of the CtrcenfianGzmtSy 
 
 1 L.33. ..3. ^Lz-j.c.i, 
 
 5 Hijt. l.x. adveclo ex urbe ctiltti, 
 
 and
 
 150 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 and fuch as might now be called a Proceffion. 
 What ground I have to imagine this, is from 
 a hint given by Trudentius, where he men- 
 tions tht AmphitheatricalTomp, We learn 
 alfo from '^ Ifidorus^ that there was a kind 
 of Gladiators who fought on horfe-back, and 
 who entring one at one Gate, another at ano- 
 ther, mounted upon white Courfers, with gil- 
 ded Helmets, and great and fmall Arms, the 
 military Enfigns preceding : Which Appea- 
 rance and Figure required, methinks, very 
 ipacious Entries ; fo that it was very requifite 
 to have tvv^o fmall Gates near the great one. 
 The Clafs of thofe Combatants was the firft 
 in their kind, and the moft noble, as IJido- 
 rus and Artemidorus hint, where the latter 
 fays, that to dream of them^ ought to be 
 interpreted as denoting a rich and noble 
 Woman. Methinks by their manner of fight- 
 ing I can perceive, as it were, the firft Idea 
 People had of Tournaments and Tiltings. In 
 Cicero*s time they were called by the Greek 
 Name Andabates^ becaufe their Helmet, in 
 a great meafure, obftructcd their feeing, as 
 it ftill happens by the Armour People put 
 on at tilting with Lances \ for which realbn 
 that word was applied proverbially to thofe 
 who did any thing in a blindfolded manner. 
 Lipjius, in his " Saturnalia^ treats on this 
 
 '®L.iS. c.y^. Cenern Gladiator um plaraj quornm primus 
 Indus Equejirinm, ^c. 
 «» L.2. c,l^. 
 
 head
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 151 
 
 heid with extreme Erudition, and fhews, 
 that Tournaments had their Origin from gla- 
 diatory Combats, and not from the Ufage of 
 the northerly People, as is commonly believed. 
 I think I can perceive them hinted at like- 
 wife in the Ads of St. Demetrius^ quoted 
 already in the firft Book ; becaufe in them 
 we have mention made, that while the Em- 
 peror was ftanding within the Palifade, at 
 Thejfalonica, beholding thofe noted Games^ 
 a certain famous Dueller, who commonly 
 worfted every body, being then introduced 
 before that Prince, caird aloud, and chal- 
 lenged the Perfon who durft fight him, to 
 go ftreight into the Field of Battle, for which 
 great Rewards were offer 'd. On this, Ibme 
 there prefent were ftruck with a kind of 
 Fannie, till a certain Youth coming down 
 from the Steps, frankly offered to engage 
 him. But to return to the forefaid Paffage 
 of Ifidorus^ we likewife learn by it, that 
 there were two great Gates in the Amphi- 
 theatre, and not four, and that the one faced 
 towards the Eaft, the other the Weft ; which 
 Defcription exaftly agrees with that oi Rome^ 
 but not with ours, becaufe befides out oiRome 
 when they treated of an Amphitheatre, they 
 meant only that of Titus, But I fhall here 
 Ihew a place in Herodian^ which confirms 
 exceedingly well, that the Entry by which 
 the Emperor went into the Amphitheatre, 
 in order to fee the Games, was one of thole 
 
 on
 
 252* 0/ A MP HI THEATRES. 
 
 on the fide of the Building, in the middle, 
 and exadly like that we fee in ours of 
 Verona, and not by any of the Entries at 
 the two Extremities of the Oval length-ways. 
 This Hiftorian relates, '^ that the young 
 Man fent to kill Commodus-, chofe for that 
 end to poft himfelf at the Entry of the Am- 
 phitheatre, hoping to ftand hid there, as 
 being a dark place. Now, if that Entry had 
 had at the end of it a Gate leading into the 
 Area, it furely would not have been dark ; 
 on the contrary very light, as we fee the 
 two Gates length-ways were, the Widenefs 
 and other Circumftances belonging to it con- 
 tributing thereto. Neither would any ether 
 Entry have been fo dark as is reprefented, 
 fince that one only, in opening to the third 
 Portico, has a blind Wall in Front, as is feen 
 in our Plan. So that we find herein an ad- 
 mirable Confirmation of what we read, and 
 what is faid in the Hiftorv, demonftrated 
 with Certainty by what we Ihall fee very 
 foon. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, 153 
 
 C H A P. VIL 
 
 Of the- Area^ or Field of the Amphi- 
 theatre : How the TVild-Beafls 
 were brought into it ; of the Wall 
 by which it was fur rounded. 
 
 ' I ^HE Area of the Amphitheatre was 
 K^ entirely open and free. Ltpfitis ^ has 
 treated about the Gods^ to whom he thought 
 the Amphitheatre was facred, and fays, that 
 ^n Altar to Jupiter flood in the Field ; ac- 
 cordingly in his Draught he has placed one in 
 the middle. Bat the Amphitheatre was not 
 confecrated to any God at all, being no Tem- 
 ple; tho* 1 own the Games they perform'd 
 were confecrated. This, Stfinnitis Capita 
 relates in his Books, where he treats of the 
 Games cited be ^ LaBmitius. So that Ter- 
 tullian fpake very properly when he faid, 
 Mars and *Z)i^^^ preGded at thofe Games; 
 and figuratively, when he affirmed, that the 
 Amphitheatre was confecrated to ^harfli or 
 cruel Deities. I do not doubt but there may 
 have been an Altar in the Amphitheatre, tho' 
 .not in the middle of its Area, or where it might 
 have been a hinderance to the Performance ; 
 nor do I think it was fixed, but moveable, 
 
 as
 
 254 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 as occafion required. The Floor of this Area, 
 which IS now made on a Level with the loweft 
 of the Steps that lies hid under ground, 
 was originally almoft three Feet and a half 
 lower than what it is at prefent. I learnt 
 to know exactly wher^ the Level of the 
 ancient Floor had been, by the Height of 
 the Conduits, ftill preferved under ground, 
 of which we ftiall fpeak in its due place ; 
 and it was i Foot 4 Inches lower than the 
 inner Portico, from which they afcended to 
 ^&T odium: the Height of the thick Wall 
 which furrounded the Field, was exactly 
 even w^ith the laft Step but one, feen at pre- 
 fent; inlbmuch that the Ground, or Level 
 of the Area, was lower than the Pavement 
 of the Todium, four Feet and a half. 
 
 There is one Curiofity, about which eve- 
 ry body who looks on the Amphitheatre 
 is anxious to be informed, ^uiz. in what 
 manner the Beafts were brought into the 
 Field. Lipfiiiss Opinion about this is ge- 
 nerally received ; namely, that the Animals 
 being kept in Caves under ground, conti- 
 guous to, and around the Field, were brought 
 out to the View of the People through Doors, 
 which are believed to have been in the Wall 
 that fupported the Podium : For this Reafon 
 that Author being followed by all the others, 
 in his Drawing has accordingly placed iQn 
 or twelve of thofe Doors on each fide, un- 
 der the Podium. The only reafon he had 
 
 for
 
 0/Amphitheatres. 155 
 
 for placing them there was, he lays, his 
 feeing the like kind of Doors in the Am- 
 phitheatre oi Verona ; tho' it unluckily hap- 
 pens, that that Amphitheatre is the only one, 
 where in digging, we certainly perceive, 
 there were no fuch Doors at all, nor was it 
 fit to make them under ground, and in a 
 Wall 1 5 Feet thick. Befides, there was no 
 room in the Amphitheatres to make fubter- 
 raneous Caves i:^ large, as were fit for con- 
 taining the great number of Wild-Beafts made 
 ufe of at thofe Shews. Lipfius imagined, "^ 
 that they were kept below the inner Portico, \ 
 but it required another kind of a place than \ 
 that narrow Space ; befides, under the Por- 
 tico's Conduits were hollowed all around, as | 
 ftiall be ihewn. I had, myfelf, fome dif- \ 
 ficulty in the matter, on reading in HerodiaUy \ 
 ^ that the Lions killed in the Amphitheatre 
 by Commodus^ came out from fubterraneous 
 -places. But, as in the Field fometimes they 
 erefted pieces of Machinery which reprefented 
 Mountains, and Ibmetimes planted real Trees 
 on them which appeared like Woods ; fo like- 
 wife they contrived hidden Caves, from 
 whence, all of a fudden. Animals came out. 
 The Poet ' Calphurnius afferts this, fpeaking 
 in one of his Eclogues, that in a Hunting 
 given by the Emperor Carinus, ^ the Ground 
 
 y r. Man. Apul. ^c. 
 * Ruptaque vor^gme ten* 
 
 • Emerfiffe feras. WaS
 
 l$6 0/^ Amphitheatres. 
 
 was Ibmetimes made to gape, and Gulphs 
 or hollow Pits to open, from whence Beafts 
 came forth. 
 
 Such Reprefentations may alfb have been 
 made at the* Hunting exhibited by Comma- 
 dus 5 but Herodian hints, that this happened 
 only but at one time. I think, that in or- 
 der to feign fuch hollow Pits, they may have 
 made ufe of thofe large fubterraneous Con- 
 duits which we find go crofs the Fields as 
 Ihall be fhewn in its due place. The Be- 
 lief, that Wild-Beafts were kept wittiin the 
 Amphitheatre itlelf, in Prifons and Dens, is 
 not the lafi jMiftake committed by the Learned 
 in their 'Notions about the Amphitheatres. I 
 obferve in one Paflage of "^ St. Chryfoftomey 
 that fuch Beails were kept in the remote and 
 uninhabited parts of the City, and within 
 Receptacles where they were confined ; and 
 in Rome:, we know that the Vi'var'mm was 
 appropriated for that Ufe, which was a Ipa- 
 cious and noted place j of which ^ Procopius 
 makes particular mention, and concerning 
 which I refer the Reader to that elaborate 
 Diifertation of Cavalier Paulo Maffei of 
 Volterra^ inftrted in the twelfth Tome of 
 the Journal of Venice, treating about a. cu- 
 rious and rare Infcription. 
 
 Ammianus compares the Fury of the Go- 
 vernor Maximinus to that of the Wild-Beafts 
 
 "7 Horn. 6o. in Mat. \y l^r\^& tstito i^ h ya^tcty^cttf' 
 8 Bel, Goth, lib, I. . 
 
 of
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 15*7 
 
 of the Amphitheatre when fet at liberty by 
 breaking down the Back-doors of their Pri- 
 Ibns, difra^is pofiicis. * Salmajius on Vo- 
 pifcus lays, that by that word, thofe Doors 
 are to be underftood, through which tkeBeafts 
 came from their Caves under ground into 
 the Arena ; and pretended to mend an ob- 
 fcure Paffage in his Author, rendering that 
 word in the aforefaid Senfe. Valefius on 
 Ammianus is of the fame opinion, and ^o 
 are others; but the Evidence of the faft 
 taken notice of by us, ftiews, that other 
 Doors mutt be thereby underftood. For my 
 part, I cannot conceive that w^ord as relating 
 to any other Doors than thofe of the places 
 wherein the Beaftsw^ere confined; from which, 
 I am perfuaded, they came into the Arena, 
 where the moft fierce and dangerous Animals 
 of all were brought. 
 
 The word Caveuy ufed Ibmetimes figura- 
 tively for the Theatre and Amphitheatre, 
 regards that part of the Building where the 
 Spedators fat,_as^^>*^/^j" explains it 5 and 
 fignifies properly, not a Cave imder grotmdy 
 as the Vocabularies likewife by theMiftake 
 already hinted at in the Strudure of the Am- 
 phitheatres, commonly explain it, but a Cave, 
 or Place of Confinement j the word in our 
 Language being transformed, by the ufual 
 Changes made in Manufcripts and ancient 
 Monuments, between the Letters c^ eg:, v^ 
 
 S e l^i
 
 258 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 e h i h and e. Tlmtus and Cicero called 
 that wherein Chickens were penned up Ca- 
 nJea^ being places of Confinement of the fame 
 Form with that of the Beafts, tho' in pro- 
 portion to the Size of the Animals ; and in 
 them were the Wild-Beafts kept and brought 
 from remote Countries, and lb carried where 
 occafion required. ' Laertius tells us, that 
 Alexander caufed Calijihenes to be put 
 into an Iron Cage \ and we learn from Tati- 
 anus^ that within it he was carried about^ 
 as tf he had been a Bear or a T anther. 
 However, * Apulehis made the little Fable 
 of Trajileontes^ who feign'd himfelf a Bear^ 
 and being clothed with the Skin of that Ani- 
 mal, and brought enclofed within a Cage 
 into the Houfe of the Perfon who was to 
 give the Shew, when admitted, open'd the 
 Doors of the Houfe to his AlTociates, and, 
 fo gave them opportunity to plunder. Such 
 was the Cavea in which, t Tliny tells us, 
 Atigujtus caufed a tame Ty ger to be feen,fi,nce 
 it would not have been convenient to fliew 
 fuch an Animal in a fubterraneous Cave. 
 
 However, ' ° Marcellintis lays, that Valen- 
 ttnian kept near his own Room the Ca'uea 
 of two exceeding fierce Bears : Nor in any 
 other manner could fuch Beafts be nourifli'd 
 or kept alive a confiderable time j for if they 
 had been confined in numbers in thofe fub- 
 
 * 1.4. tL.S.C.17. ^»o ii^.29. r. 3. 
 
 terraneous
 
 0/ A M P H I T H I: A T R fi S. IjT^ 
 
 terraneous places (as is believed) they would 
 undoubtedly have killed one another. And 
 we lee in our ov/n times, that where-ever 
 Wild-Beails are kept, every one of them 
 has a ieparate Room appointed for holding 
 it. We know that liich places of confine- 
 ment v/ere in the manner of Gages made with 
 Grates. '' Horace^ in his Treatife de Arte 
 Toeticay compares the Man who could break 
 the Bars or Palings of the Cavea, to a Bear. 
 In this manner did the Learned ^"-Gotofre- 
 duSy in the Law of Theodofats and Hono- 
 rius^ underftand the CaveiC, againfl: thole, 
 who in bringing Wild-Beafts to Rome^ en- 
 cumber 'd the Cave£ of the City. Thole 
 Cages were Ibmetimes of Iron; hence '- Syra- 
 machiiSy fpeaking of fome Dogs brought 
 firom Scotland., fays, that they wxre oblerved 
 to be fb fierce at the Games, that they might 
 have been imagined to have been brought 
 likewife in Cavea of Iron. Sometimes alio 
 thefe Cages were made of Wood \ fo Clau-- 
 diari fpoke of the Beafts prepared for the 
 Games of Stilico, ' ^ fhat they ivere brought 
 fhtit up within Manjionsof Elm, or Holme- 
 Tree. Hence it is, that in the Book of the 
 Deaths of Perfecutors, it is faid oi Maximian^ 
 that v/hen he defired to fee Men torn to pieces^ 
 
 " Ccive& vduit fi franker e clathros. 
 
 " C.Th.lib,!^. t.i\. /.2. 
 
 '3 L.2. Ep.yj. Ut ferrets caveis futares adveclos. 
 
 M Vmeg. 3. Et cldHfa feruntur ligne'ts domihus. 
 
 S 2 he
 
 l6q Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 he caufed Ibme of his ' ^ Bears to be brought, 
 which he kept on purpofe. 
 
 Now I am perfuaded, that in no other 
 manner were the Wild«Beafts, even the moll 
 fierce, brought into the Amphitheatre. Hence 
 Claiidian fays, that in the Preparation of 
 amphitheatrical Shews, in the Confulate of 
 Stilico, the number of Wild-Beafts was lb 
 great, '^ that they wanted Carpenters to plain 
 the Wood. So were the Cave£ platted with 
 rough Bows of Afh and Beech-Tree, even 
 wath the Leaves upon them. In effeft, no 
 other way could i oo Lions have been let 
 into the Arena, as Hiftorians fay was done 
 by feveral Emperors ; nor could fuch large 
 Animals, together with their Hutches, have 
 been able to pafs through any narrow Door. 
 However, thus is the word Cavea under- 
 ftood in many PalTages of various Authors, 
 who fpeak of the Wild-Beafts and Amphi- 
 theatres. Bulenger alio, by the word Cavea 
 would have the Caves and Rooms, which 
 he ' "^ writes, he faw under the Steps of an 
 Amphitheatre at Toitou^ to be underftood : 
 But liich Rooms, correlponding with ours, 
 are neither fubten aneous, nor have they the 
 Door towards the Arena; nor could they 
 have ferved for Wild-Beafts, as we Ihall fee 
 
 ''' Jubcbat adferri, 
 
 '^ Tan.'^. Fabri nee tigna polire fufficimt rudibas fagis 
 texerum (k> ornis frondentes caveA. 
 ''' Ver.at. Circ.cap.i-j. 
 
 when
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. i6i 
 
 when we come to treat of them. He lifcewife 
 cites a Paffage in Voj){fcus, where it is faid, 
 that a yafl: number of Beafts were made to 
 come forth through all the Taffages \ but 
 here he fpeaks of the Circus. So did they 
 bring the Wild-Beafts alio into the Forum, 
 when they exhibited the Shews there be- 
 fore the Amphitheatre. It appears alio by 
 ' ^ StrabOy where he fpeaks of that Machine, 
 mentioned already in another place, from 
 which they cauled the Criminal to fall among 
 their Dens : But with regard to the Toftica 
 or Back-doors, mentioned by Marcellinus^ 
 we cannot underftand that word in any other 
 Senfe, but as meaning the Doors of the Places 
 wherein the Animals were confin'd; which 
 being opened, they came forth into the Arena. 
 Perhaps they call'd them Vojtica^ as being 
 uled to make them not in the Front, but 
 Back-parts of the Cages, or Prifons for the 
 Bealts. This word is found alfo in the Afts 
 of St. Taraco and his Companions, where 
 we read that a Lionels being provoked, 
 broke the Poftica : The original Greek has 
 it, that the faid Animal being unwilling to 
 hurt the Martyrs, returned to the Door, 
 and not finding it open, began to try to break 
 the Boards with her Teeth. But from this 
 we can draw no Confequence at all, and the 
 rather fince the fad happened in Cilicia^ 
 where there were no Amphitheatres. I ftiall, 
 
 S 3 how-
 
 z6l Of Amphitheatres* 
 
 however, .ftiew here what is particularly 
 mentioned in the Fragment of a Stone with 
 an Infcription, in the time of Vakntinian^ 
 publifhed by ^'Fabretti^ and of which I have 
 made mention in the lirft Book of this Trea- 
 tife. We read AMPHITHEATRUM CUM 
 PORTIS POSTICUS ET OMNEiM FA- 
 
 BRI It would feem as if they ipoke 
 
 of Reparation, and if the Marble has it really 
 Amphitheatnim^ the Torta Tojiica cannot 
 be here underftood thofe of the Cages or Places 
 of Confinement. But I fhall here fubjoin 
 what I think on the matter ; the word To- 
 fi'iccio^ in the Vulgar, expreffes a thing which 
 is not fixed and peculiar to one Place, but 
 is put to, or taken away at pleaiure : It 
 undoubtedly comes from Toflicus^ which 
 indeed has had fuch a Signification in Latin. 
 By which 'tis credible, that in the Amphithea-* 
 tres the Gates were fo called which kept the 
 exterior Arches of the Entrance ihut; which, 
 as our Veiiiges fnew, and as we have hinted 
 at above, were not fixed, but removed on 
 the days wherein the Shews were exhibited , 
 for this reafon they were called TojitC£, 
 Thefe then we may believe were done over 
 again, by the Peribn whom the Infcription 
 mentions. Befides, in this Senfe, the word 
 7ofiic£ agrees very well v/ith the Doors of 
 the Places where the Beafts were confined, 
 becaufe it was neceffary that they fhould be 
 put on, and removed at pleafure. I fnall 
 * Bj^. Inf. />. (J29. not
 
 (yAlVI PHI THEATRES. Z6Z 
 
 not negled to mention here, that one PaiTage 
 of '9 Apiilems gives us realbn to beheve, 
 that it was ufual in the Games of Wild- 
 beafts to place Machines of Wood in the 
 middle, in the manner of a moveable and 
 ornamented Houle, with a Tower upon it, 
 which ferved as a Receptacle againft the 
 next Hunting. Here, however, 'twas pro- 
 per, the Beaits fhould have been placed be- 
 fore, and prepared, and, as it were, confin'd 
 in fo many Prifons with Doors to them, 
 which very well may have been called 
 Toflk^e. 
 
 What regards the Stage, upon which the 
 Martyrs were expofed to the Beafts, that fo 
 they might be feen the better, muft be un- 
 derftood of the Pulpit and the Bridge, men- 
 tioned in the Ads of Santa Terpetua and 
 her Gomparnons : in them we find, as a Gon- 
 firmation of what is already faid, that the 
 Wiid-Beafts were brought, together with the 
 Cavea in which they were confin'd, on the 
 Stage 5 fince we learn that Saturus being 
 brought bound on the Bridge, and placed 
 before a Bear, the,^° Animal would not come 
 out of his Cave a to devour him. 
 
 That PalTage of Lampridhis is remarkable 
 concerning the bad Omen which happen'd, 
 
 's> Lib. 4. Confixilis Machinji fublicAturris decora, futUYA 
 'venationis receptacuh. 
 
 ^° TH?n ad urfum fabJlriciHs effet in pnte, urfus de C(tve» 
 pro dire noluit. 
 
 s 4 ^^-
 
 Id4 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 becaufe the Helmet of Commodus was car- 
 ried out of the Amphitheatre through the 
 Gate Libitinaria 5 that is, as Tyio fays, 
 through which all the dead Corps were 
 ufually carried. This Gate could be nothing 
 elft, I think, but one of the four leifer En- 
 tries through which they paffed into the 
 Area, and came out of it again, and muft 
 have been turned towards the Spoliarhim^ 
 a place where they carried and ftript the 
 Bodies of the Gladiators, and which ought 
 to have been but at a irnall diftance from 
 the Amphitheatre. 
 
 Cufemsj in his Book de Mortibus, made 
 a double jMiftake concerning the Spoliarium^ 
 tho' he had fpoke very juftly about the Bridge 
 and Stage. jD/^ mentions Tort£ in the plu- 
 ral Number, becaufe they were obliged to 
 pafs through all the others which were in 
 that Paffage or Way. We cannot believe 
 that the Gate thro* which the Dead were 
 carried, was one of thofe two which were 
 the moft noble of any, as ^' Ltpjius feems 
 to have believed; nor, that one of them 
 would occafion an ill Omen. A pleafant 
 Miftake in the Ads of Sa7ita Terpetua^ made 
 a new Gate in the Amphitheatre, fit for no 
 Ufe that we know of; and this Gate was 
 called the Sanavinaria^ about which Father 
 Toffino treated, and was followed therein by 
 *:^ Gr£vius. Some time ago, in the Copy 
 
 *' Cap. 11. ii Ant. Roman, t.io. infrdf. 
 
 3 pub-
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. i6$ 
 
 publiflied by me, I called It Sandapilana \ 
 of which Emendation, fince I law the Ca- 
 non MazGckio^ I have now a better Opinion, 
 he judging it to be juft as I had conceived 
 it. It might furely have been called the Li- 
 b'ttinenfian^ on account of the SandapiU or 
 Biers on which the Corps of the Dead were 
 carried through it. 
 
 The Wall of the Podium was externally 
 well adorn'd with feveral kinds of the finer 
 Marbles : I conceive ijt to have been lb, from 
 the many Pieces dug up at different times in 
 the Arena, fuch as African and Serpentine j 
 and I conjefture it likewife from a Hint 
 given by a *3 poet, who calls that Wall 
 Marm&reoiis. As Time and the Repairings 
 have defaced moft of the Building, fo has 
 It the Wall in a particular manner, which 
 at prefent is buried in the ground, and I 
 have only obferv'd a wrought Bafemcnt, 
 which now appears to have been on a Le- 
 vel with the Floor. The very Flooring of the 
 Podium itfelf, has furely been paved with 
 Marble, for it was the moft noble Place of 
 any ; and the various Fragments of Tartan 
 and African Marble, cut thin in fmall Iquare 
 Dyes, which are Ibmetimes found, confirm it. 
 On the Border of the Wall there was a Ri- 
 iing, from which that place took the Name 
 QiToditm^ and which ferved by way of 
 Ornament and Fence : Tis not likely that 
 
 *s C^/p. Echg.-j. 
 
 this
 
 l66 Of A MV HIT HE ATRES. 
 
 this rifing Place projeded from the Wall, 
 becaufe it would have caufed fo much Space 
 in the Area to have been loft, and to thofe 
 elpeciaily who beheld the Games from above 5 
 nor have we any Evidence of it, though, 
 becaufe Lipjius faid it, Hich a fignilication is 
 commonly given to the word ^odhim. Some 
 pieces of a Imall Pillar of Foreign Marble 
 have been alio dug up, but not fo much, as 
 might afford us to know certainly the pre- 
 cife Dimenlions thereof, or the Form, of the 
 BalUifters which have been round it. 
 
 We muft ^i^QW enquire into the Manner 
 how tlidfe, who ftood in the Podium, were 
 fecufe;:j£ionuthe.TiQlence of the Beaiis. Lip- 
 jius faid> that the Ground-Plot, or lowermoft 
 Floorings was twelve or fifteenFoot lower than 
 it^ but in this manner the Area would have 
 been a mere Well, and a great part of it hid 
 from thofe who fat at the top. We have 
 leen already,- that the Ground was no more 
 than four Foot and a half lower than the 
 Pavement of the Podium; there was befides, 
 the Height of the rifing Place^ which may 
 have been three Foot, or three and a half: 
 but becaufe a Height, between feven and 
 eight Foot, was not fulEcient to fecure People 
 from the Leap of a Tyger or a Pard, in the 
 Circus in Cafars time, it was furrounded 
 with a Paling of Iron, then with a Ditch ; 
 ^sdJii the_An]£hitheat lecured. with va- 
 rious Fences, viz. Nets, Spikes, and ?ali- 
 IT"-— iades.
 
 Of Amphitheati^es. 167: 
 
 fades^which turned round the Nets that de- 
 fended the Sodium, are mentioned hy'' "^Timjj 
 where he lays, ..that in iV^ms Games, they 
 were knotted together with Gum or Kofin. 
 They are mentioned like wife by Ca/p/mrmus, 
 who faysj that in the Games he had feen, 
 they were of Gold, or gilded, By thofe 
 Paffages, 'tis, however, not certain, if they 
 were Branches of Metal, or Nets of Cords j 
 fince feme would not underfrand t\it jluro 
 tort a of Calphurnius^ as wrought with Gold 
 Wire. 'Tis credible, that they were raifed 
 above the fmall Out-buttings of the Podium; 
 but L learn from the fame Poet, the true life 
 for whichf^they lerved, aamely, that there 
 was a Range of very long Spikes joined to 
 the Nets, in the forrn of Teeth^ Which 
 ftretched forward into the Arena, and, as I 
 .believe, bended towards it, and lb contrived 
 as to hinder theBeafts from leaping forward, 
 BefideSjthere were round and moveable Staves, 
 w|iich,. pre vented' them from forcing their 
 way when entangled, or from grappling 
 and climbing. I do not, however know^ 
 whether there might not have been a Mob 
 of TlebeanSj who may have flood behind 
 the Palifades to fee the Games ; for k hap- 
 pened on a certain time, that there being no 
 Criminals condemned to the Beafts ^% CWi- 
 ^^//^ caufed fome Fellows that were looking 
 
 on
 
 268 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 on to be feized, and to be made uft. of in- 
 ftead of the condemned Malefaffors. J give 
 you here the obfcure Verfes oiCalphtirnmSy 
 in which we learn the Nature of thofe Fences * 
 nor, without a full Account of the Amphi- 
 theatre, could it be poffible to underftand 
 the Verfes : I have alfo given the ^ ^ Tranfla- 
 tion with them, by which I have endeavoured 
 to make them Ibmewhat clear. The fifth 
 Verie, I read according to that moft excellent 
 Emendation of Salmajius on Vopifcus j and 
 what ought to be underftood about the En- 
 clofure, and Portico in the firft Verfe, fhall 
 be very foon explained. I read Tot a in the 
 ieventh, and Tortis in the eighth, becaule 
 Totis 'Denttbns in this place I think fcems 
 to agree fomething left with the general 
 Senfe. 
 
 Bait ens en gemmts^ en illita porticus Aitro 
 Cert at im radiant ! nee non ubi finis Arena 
 Troxima marmoreo peragitSpehacula Muro» 
 Sternitur adjunEiis ebtir admirabile truncis^ 
 Et coit in rtttulum, tereti qui lubrieus axe 
 Impofitos fubita vertigine falleret Ungues -^ 
 Excuteretque feras : Auro quoque tot a re- 
 fulgent 
 Retia:>qua tortis in Arenam dentibus extant ^ 
 
 ^5 As this TranJIathn in Italian is a Specimen of the Author's 
 Ability, in 'verfification i I here fubjoin it, together with the 
 original Verfes, 
 
 dentibus
 
 Of Amphitheatres. z6() 
 
 T^entikis aquatts : & erat mihi, crede^ 
 
 Lycota^ 
 Si qua fides noftroT>ens longior omnis aratro. 
 
 Splendono a gar a ilTortico e la cinta 
 Siuefta digemme e dor quel: non Meno 
 T?reffo al Marmoreo, dove ilCampo ha fine 
 Muroj avorio mirabile rifplende 
 A ipali intorno, e a formar vim Cancelli 
 Girevoli^ ne quai Lubrico inganno 
 Trovan le Fiere, che ajferrar non ponno 
 T>ehife Vtmghie lor dal volger pronto. 
 ^'oro fplendono ancor le reti ttttte, 
 Che fi fpingon co* denti uguali e adunchi 
 Verfo il Campo-, e ogni dente \abbimi fede'\ 
 Non era Ltmgo men de noftri aratri. 
 
 CHAP. VIIL 
 
 Of the StepSj Vomitories-i Benches-^ 
 fmall Stairs^ and Wedges. 
 
 WE come now to treat of the Inner 
 Elevation, namely, of the whole 
 Space around the Building, where the Speda- 
 tors fat, which confills in Steps that arife 
 and widen all around, from the Bottom to 
 the Top of the Fabrick. This Part of our 
 2[rena-, if we may believe moft Foreigners, 
 who have wrote of Voyages or Antiquity, 
 is wholly preferyed and entire j but the 
 
 truth
 
 270 0/ A M P H 1 1 H E A T R E S. 
 
 truth IS, that this is the only part which 
 has altogether periflied ; ib that at prefent 
 it is quite transformed and disfigured But 
 not to mention the many Rocks on which 
 thofe who have publilhed Prints of Anti- 
 quities have fplit, 'their not taking notice, 
 or diftinguifhing modern things, often found 
 mixed with ancient, has above any other 
 Particular proved fatal; by which I mean 
 Reparations. The Steps feen at prefent, 
 are for the moft part modern, and all out 
 of their true Places ; becaufe in the repair- 
 ing, according to the Guftom fometimes 
 pradifed, not only in this Age, but at other 
 Times too, not in our City only, but o- 
 thers alfo, never has any particular Care 
 been taken to employ People as Overfeers 
 of the Amphitheatre, who have had skill 
 in fuch Affairs. On the contrary, in the 
 Times of our Fathers and Grand-fathers, 
 fuch Perfons who may hav€ delighted in 
 ancient Erudition, have ever been deputed 
 for the Direi^ion of fuch Matters 5 for the 
 original Form and Diftribution of the Parts 
 in this Fabrick have not been obferved in 
 the Reparations, and 'tis indeed very diffi- 
 cult at prefent to trace them out. Yet for 
 all this, a great deal may be learned, if a 
 diligent Oblervation be made of the prefent 
 State of the Fabrick ; for in the firft place, 
 there are not a few Fragments of the ancient 
 Steps of the Building to be fccn here and 
 
 there,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 171 
 
 there, mixed among thofe that are modern, 
 efpecially in the higher Parts of the Build- 
 ing; by which we may learn the ancient 
 Meafures and Form : nor could this be done 
 by any other means, fince not one of them 
 are preferved in the Amphitheatre at Rome. 
 
 The Steps are for the moft part of red Mar- 
 ble, fome Pieces, according to the ancient man- 
 ner, very large, even eight Feet in length, and 
 a Foot and. fix Inches high, tv/o Feet and 
 near two Inches broad j there are other two, 
 which have the Border laid under the upper 
 Step : the Meafures agree with what is affign'd 
 by Vitruvhis^ and 'tis eafy to diitinguifii 
 them from the others that are modern, par- 
 ticularly by the raifed Border they have on 
 ' each fide, which Border, in the ancient Steps, 
 rifes infenfibly, and terminates in a thin 
 Edge, that fills nothing, and was fufficient 
 to keep ofi^ the Water from running into the 
 Frames or Joinings. Befides, they unite very 
 exactly, one wath another; and the' fmall 
 Openings between them, in Ibme Places, we 
 find defended by a very fine Stucco plaftered 
 over them ; and /tis credible that they 
 have been placed ^o as to have a Irnall De- 
 clivity. On the other hand, the modern 
 Steps are of a flaky Stone, moft of * which 
 are not fo folid and fquare as to have a true 
 and fliarp Edge, but exceeding rough en 
 the Infide, the Cavities being filled with 
 Stones and Fragments, and now become a 
 
 Re-
 
 V]Z 0/ Am PHI THEATRES. 
 
 Receptacle for Rain-water, which fometimcs 
 is very pernicious to the modern Roofs under 
 It. Befides, there are great Crevices between 
 the one and the other; to remedy which, 
 according to the Cuftom of our Mafons now- 
 a-days, the Steps are in a very clumfy or 
 clownifn manner dabbed over with Lime 
 and Mortar. Our prefent way of Plaftering 
 ferves for no Ufe, tho' there are fome w^ho 
 have the Secret of making Cement like that 
 of the Ancients, which petrified. 
 
 Befides, the Stones in the modern Repa- 
 rations have been fo very ill laid, that not 
 being fixed as they ought to have been, they 
 are in feveral Places disjointed, and fome more 
 or lefs funk downward and out of place. 
 Nay, in fome Parts the Curvature of the Oval 
 has not been obferved at all. Such is the 
 Difference betwixt the modern and ancient 
 Mafonry. Notwithftanding all this, it does 
 not hinder but that we have great Obliga- 
 tions to thofe who from time to time haVe 
 promoted and caufed fuch Reparations to 
 be made , and yet let the whole be ever 
 fo indifferently performed, thofe deferving 
 Citizens have at any rate kept up the internal 
 Part of a Fabrick, that even as it is at pre- 
 fent, according to the Opinion of Strangers of 
 the beft Senfe, who fee it, is one of the fineft 
 Fabricks in the World. 
 
 In order to come at a perfed Knowledge 
 of the Manner of building Amphitheatres, we 
 
 re-
 
 O/^Amphitheatres. 1*75 
 
 receive great light therein from the Openings 
 or Oat-lets placed here and there among the 
 Steps appointed for the Spectators, . and'ilill 
 the inner Doors of almofl: ail of them 
 are preferved. In the time of ' Macro- 
 bius i thefe Out-lets were called Vomit or it. 
 Philander arid Ltpjitis are of opinion that 
 Vitrtivius named them by the word AdituSy 
 when he fpeaks of the Theatres ; bat in that 
 Paifage he fays they were necefHiry to be 
 made fpacious, and with a ftreight Diredion, 
 md not vaulted. Now, 'tis plain, that he 
 :hereby underftands the Porches, Entries, or 
 Pafiagcs which lead to the Doors. Thefe 
 Vomitories^ in the Drawing of the Arena 
 ^iven by Lipjius, and in that of the Coli- 
 seum by Fontana^ wxre figured out at ran- 
 dom. "Defgodetz placed them very exaftly 
 n our Arena, and only committed an Error, 
 n believing, that thofe below terminated in 
 ;he Area, and were leis than the others, tho' 
 he inc^rnal Doors of them all are abfolutely 
 ilike, and the injudicious manner of ham- 
 mering Ibmetimes the Steps before the Aper- 
 ;ures, comes from the Repairing. They are 
 liftinft in four Rows, or we may fay. 
 Lines : and difpofed Ibm.ething in the 
 Banner of a Chefs-board, and at equal di- 
 lances in proportion as the Rounds widen; 
 
 ^ Sat. I. 6. cap./^. Untie ^ nunc Vomitoria in SpsBaculis di- 
 Imus, ubi homines glomeratim ingredientes^ in fediliii fi fun- 
 lunt. L.f. c. 3. perpetuos (^ direciosfme inverfrris, 
 
 T every
 
 174 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 every Line has fixteen of them, fo that in 
 all, they are fixty-four. In the Second, be- 
 ginning from the Ground, the two are want- 
 ing, which ought to have fallen on the Point 
 of the Oval, becaufe the Space is taken up by 
 the ttraightning of the Roof, in order to give 
 place to the great Gate of the Field, but are 
 replaced in the Middle, in the Breadth where 
 two are feen very near out another inftead 
 of the one, v/hich muft have fallen in the 
 Diameter. \Defgodetz came near the truth, 
 even in the Situation of thofe of Rome, and 
 would have fucceeded marvellouily in the 
 whole, if in ours he had made the number 
 of the Vomitories in the Middle full in the 
 fecond Line, and alio placed the fixteen of 
 the lower Order; it being certain, that that 
 Amphitheatre, by the Diltribution of its 
 Parts, could not be other wile. TJiere were 
 jbut fDur of thole Apertures which gave ad-" 
 mTttaricFinto the Area, as we have already 
 . feen, and fixty remained for the Speftators, 
 j who, though in vaft Numbers, could have 
 fpeedy Egrefs and Entrance by thofe fixty 
 \ Doors. 
 
 The Steps, as may be feen by their Profile, 
 in Tlate X. are at prefent forty-five in Num- 
 ber, diftributed in the following manner ; 
 one of them is hid under ground, and five 
 lill up the Joweft Vomitory. You arrive at 
 the Mouth of the fecond by other fix, which 
 has three, then twelve are numbered, even 
 
 to
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 275 
 
 to the Foot of the third Vomitory, which 
 comprehends four within it ; there are feven> 
 even to the fourth, which two only fill up, and 
 five are above it. It cannot be well afcertained, 
 how many of the ancient Steps there may 
 have been, becaufe of the Alteration of the 
 Meafures and other Cireumftances, which we 
 fliall treat of in the Sequel : there are two 
 more at prefent at the Foot, at the Top one 
 or two lefs ; thofe repaired, being kept more 
 low, as is difcerned by the Remains in ieve- 
 ral Places. However, the Diverfity which 
 we have fhewn already in the Height of the 
 Aperture, is not believed to have proceeded 
 from the firft Architeftj fince one cuts five 
 Steps, another four, and another two. On the 
 inner Side of the Gates, which are leen in every 
 one of the four Orders, their Stairs are all 
 equal to one another, and the Openings of 
 them, without doubt, have been equal alio ; 
 and every one in the four Steps correlponding 
 with the Height of the Gates themfelves : 
 but by the Reparations, they have been 
 changed in fuch a manner, that they crols 
 more Steps than they ought, and Ibmetimes 
 fewer. The Height of the Space which 
 runs f'^om one Order to the other, was in- 
 deed different ; the Interval, between the fe- 
 cond and the third, encreafing ten Foot above 
 that which went from the Todium to the 
 fecond, and from the third to the laft. 
 
 T z. We
 
 1^6 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 We muft not believe that the Steps con- 
 tinued from below upward always equal, 
 as are feen at preftnt, being ihterrapted by 
 fome Divifions like Steps, which were wider 
 and h gher than the others : Vitrtivius caird 
 them Tr^cin£iiones. Honor io Belli-, quoted 
 by me in the firft Book, faw one in a Theatre 
 at Gortina^ which divided the Steps in two 
 equal parts ; in another 1 heatre in the City 
 oi LittOj he perceived three : but in Theatres, 
 thole ferved chiefly for holding wi:hin them 
 Yafes of Metal, in which Eellt faw the Cells 
 or Niches, in which they were placed. 
 
 Leon Albertt wrote very judicioufly when 
 he faid, that the Ancients divided the Steps 
 for fitting, into three parts, and that round 
 about every one of thofe Divifions they had 
 made one Step wider than the others, and 
 that upon thofe Flats of the Frame, the Stairs 
 joined \ of which we Ihall fpeak afterwards. 
 The Height of thefe Tr£cin£iionesox^Qnc\\cs 
 ought not to have been greater than their 
 Breadth, namely, that the perpendicular 
 Height Ihould be equal with the horizontal 
 Breadth ; as * Vitriivins taught, whofe Text 
 in that place was not, I believe, corrupted, 
 as Terault afferts, who has tranflated it 
 differently, being of opinion, that the 
 Height of thefe Benches ought to have 
 been one half lels than the Breadth, tho' 
 
 * L.j-. f. 3. liequs. altiores ^uam quanta prjicinciionis itineris 
 ft latitHdo. 
 
 many
 
 of Amphitheatres. 177 
 
 many Particulars contradid this. However, 
 what number of Benches there really were 
 in Amphitheatres, and what their Situations 
 were, is ftill to be enquired into. It feems 
 as if they ought to have been at the Mouth 
 of all the Vomitories, in order to give more 
 room to the Entries; tho' oar Amphitheatre 
 preferves not the kaft Mark thereof, except 
 at the Floor of the third Line, where the 
 whole Round is deformed by a Step which 
 is half as narrow as the others, and- which 
 ferves for no purpofe at all. I am of opinion 
 that this was occafion'd by thofe who re- 
 paired the Building, who finding a Space here, 
 which by one Step appeared to them too 
 much, and by two too little, they chofe an 
 -ingenious Medium, to make it one and a half. 
 The Fafci^ of the Benches in the Amphi- 
 theatre of Rome^ were m.ade with Mo fate 
 Work, or inlaid vvithfhining precioiis Stones ; 
 this I learn by the Paffage of Calphtirnius^ 
 already mentioned,where he names the Balteo 
 or Belt incruited with Gems \ which could 
 be nothing elfe but the Benches. Here, 
 however, it feems, that fach kind of Work 
 was made on purpofe, in order to add to the 
 Magni'icence of fomeShew or another \ or, that 
 fuch uncommon Ornaments were the Reafon 
 why the Benches were called Belts. There 
 were once Pieces of gilded Glafs dug up 
 here, w^hich perhaps may have been made 
 ufe of in the Mofaic Work of thefe Benches, 
 
 T 3- ancT
 
 %"]% of Amphitheatres. 
 
 and fuch may have been called Gemms. The 
 Round or Enclofure of the Podium, was after 
 the manner of the Benches, which in Sub- 
 ftance correfponded with one of the Steps, 
 that was more ample and noble than any 
 of the others : that it was not reckoned a- 
 mong the number of them, I learn from 
 5 Vitriivtus^ where he calls that the firft of 
 the Tr^cin£iiones^ to which they went by 
 the Steps of the firft Stairs. So that, that 
 which was at the mouth of the fecond Vo- 
 mitories, was called the firft, as we may 
 learn by the Form of the Stairs themfelves : 
 but of this prefently. 
 
 The Steps ferved for Seats, and never for 
 People to go up them^ however, in order 
 that the Spectators might go upwards, feveral 
 fmall Stairs were cut in the Steps, which Par- 
 ticular has been imitated in our Reparations ; 
 ^nd likewife of thefe we may learn here 
 \ the Meafure and Form, for we have feveral 
 \ ancient Pieces of them remaining juft as they 
 had been in the old Stairs. It is eafy to 
 know every Piece by their Hollows at right 
 Angles, as likewife in being perfectly fquare, 
 with a mighty fine Polifti; whereas in the 
 modern they are made very clumfily. Thefe 
 Stairs then were in breadth two Feet and a 
 half, and required the half of the Step for the 
 Height, and the half for the Depth i pro- 
 >;eeding from below upv/ards, and from one 
 
 ^ L,-. C.J. 
 
 Bench
 
 0/"Amphitheatres. 179 
 
 ench to another, by which they were le- 
 irated among themfelves, and the Speda- 
 »rs, as it were, diftinguifhed in Troops or 
 ompanies. 
 
 From what has been faid, I don't think 
 will now be difficult to iinderftand that 
 ace of ^ TertuUian, which has been at- 
 Tipted to be explain'd by many with very- 
 tie Siiccefs. His Words are, Nam apud 
 eciaaUa & in vm ftatur\ vtas enim vo- 
 nt cardines baletorttm per ambiUim^ ^ 
 ^crtmina poptdarium per proclivtim : ca- 
 "idra qtioque nominattir tpfe in anfra^itt 
 ' confeffum fittis. But firft, you muft 
 ferve the Context : TerttUlian fhewing, that 
 was not lawful for Chriftians to be pre- 
 It at the Shews of the Tagans ; and anfv/ers 
 :>fe who defended it, by faying, they did 
 t fee that Shews were forbid by Scripture ; 
 d infinuates, that in a certain manner fuch 
 'Prohibition is found in thefe Words of the 
 ^falmsj where that Man is called blefled, 
 hoftands not in the vjays of the ungodly, 
 fittethin the chair of pejtiknce '^ and from 
 3 he takes occafion to call fome places of 
 I Theatre and Amphitheatre, Via & Ca- 
 l/edra. ^ Clemens Alexandrimis made ufe 
 ' the fame Verfe as an Authority agaiuft 
 
 :|l Speci. cap. 10. 
 
 h Pf. I. I. In via peccatorum non Jieth, ^ tn cathedra pt^ 
 
 iyntU nonfedh. 
 * P^d. 1. 1. Ho??i.6. iie Pxnit. 
 
 T 4 Shews,
 
 iSo 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Shews, and fo did Chryfojlome^ but not in 
 the fame manner. We then fee in Terttd- 
 lian^ that the Floors of the Tr^cm6licnes 
 or Benches, were called Vi£, and both in 
 effecl: fervedfor places of Paffage or Thorow- 
 f ires ; and we alfb fee, that in thofe Paffages 
 the People who came late ftood on foot, 
 theifSeati having been filFd by others. Of 
 the'twb parts of the Tracin^iones he calls 
 the Wall Balteo, Belt, or Fafcta\ it is lb 
 called likewife by CalphnrniuSy the Deno- 
 mination arifing from the Partition -Wall which 
 appeared to furround the Cavea. 7 he Floor 
 he calls C^r^^j as being that on which the Spec- 
 tators turned round. Hence "^ Apulems called 
 the Earth icfelf Cardo. Vitniviits, in the 
 place cited a little before, called the Floor 
 the Street, tho' by another Vocable, and the 
 Partition-Wail Tr£ci7i6iio. ^ Bullrnger com- 
 mitted a double Error in placing iVi^baltei and 
 Cardines in the Orcheftra. ^ Salmafius on 
 Salmis fpoke much better ^ but we learn from 
 TerttilUan^ that the Stairs were likewile 
 called ViiC^ and faid by him to be Separations 
 of the Men, oi popular Seats belo'jj a?idai;o've: 
 So that one might fulpeci the under part of 
 the Steps allotted for People of the firfl: Rank, 
 may not have had Stairs : but as that is not 
 pofiible, and as we find it confirmed not 
 to be fo, particularly by a PafiTage of ' ° Sue- 
 
 "7 ApuL de MurJo. ^ De Cir, cap. 54. 9 P. pip. 
 ^° /;; Do;n. cap. 4.. 
 
 I ionitis^
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. i8i 
 
 tonius^ which we fhall produce in another 
 place, we may conclude, that Tertullian by 
 the w^ord Topularesy underftood all the Peo- 
 ple placed on the Steps. Nor any where 
 elfe, but by this Paffage, do we learn that 
 that Situation was called Cathedra^ which 
 was in Anfra£iu. Varro fhews, that it 
 was as much m Anfra£iu as in flexUy 
 but as the continued and circular Paflage of 
 the Tr£cinBiones had no other Turning, 
 than where it was crofs'd by the PafTages of 
 the Out-lets; lb I am certain, that thole 
 were the Situations, ib called, as having Seats 
 fomething more convenient, which, in order 
 not to leave thofe Spaces void, was ufual 
 here to be placed. 
 
 From thefe two kinds of Paffages, namely, 
 from the Floorings of the Benches, and of the 
 little Stairs, the Cunei or Wedges were for- 
 med. There are many places in Writers, by 
 which it appears, that the Spectators, both 
 in the Theatre and Amphitheatre, were placed 
 in Divifions in the form of Wedges : But 
 of the manner how they were difpoled, or the 
 Stairs either, very few People have before now 
 taken pains to iiluftrate thole Particulars, nor 
 does our Arena or Reparations afford us any 
 help therein, in the laft of which they were 
 made at random. Yet notwithflanding this, 
 two things feem to have pointed out to 
 me the manner how the Wedges were placed, 
 and the Pofition of the Stairs 5 one from Vi- 
 
 truvius^
 
 l8l O/AmPHITHE ATRES. 
 
 truvius^ the other from Medals. For in this 
 Author I read, that the ^ ^ Cunei or Wedges 
 of Theatres, ought to be made in fuch a 
 manner, as that the Angles of Triangles^ 
 which fall in the Curvatures of the Rounds 
 fhould dire£i their "Proje^ion and their 
 Stairs between the one Wedge and the 
 other to the fir ft Bench : And above thefe 
 the Taff ages alternatively^ and the Wedges 
 in the middle likewife^ have the fame T>i' 
 re£iion. He fays alio in another place, that 
 the Gradations of the St air should be directed 
 to the firfl Bench ^ between the Wedges and 
 the Seats of the Spe£iators^ and that from 
 that Bench again^ among the fame, the 
 fecond Gradation fhould be direBed, Then 
 I fee on Medals, how two of the upper 
 Stairs, which fpring off from the top of 
 the Steps, have a Vomitory in the m.iddle, 
 and come below, as if joining to one ano- 
 ther, the Space between the one and the o- 
 ther appearing like a Wedge 5 but in thefe 
 they know how the other Branch muft 
 have defcended, widening itfelf in the 
 fame manner that the firft grew narrow. 
 The fame is to be laid of the other two that 
 are lower; and tho' it be not my Cuftom 
 to delineate any thing that I do not fee my 
 felf, yet the Certainty of the Marks, com- 
 pared with the Remains , thefe, with a little 
 
 " 1.5-. c,6. Cunei itadtrigantur uf mgulitrtgonorum, e^r. 
 
 Allowance,
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 18} 
 
 Allowance, prove, in my opinion, that I 
 have certainly found the manner how thofe 
 things have been difpofed. The reafon why 
 I ftiew the Wedges or Cunei in the ninth 
 Plate, formed by the Stairs and Benches, is, 
 becaufe the genteel manner by which the 
 Steps were difpofed, from top to bottom, ap- 
 pears till this day: What regards the civil 
 life of thefe Diftinftions, fliall be treated of 
 in another place. 'Tis certain, that the 
 whole Space could not other wife have been 
 divided into Triangles ; however, in that 
 manner of difpofing them, the Benches had 
 Ibme of their Bales below, others above. 
 That the Space was divided or laid out in 
 the form of Wedges, appears plain, for 
 ' * Apnleius fays, thofe who could not get' 
 a place on the Marble Steps, but flood in 
 the Paffages, were unwedged. And when 
 Nero placed Soldiers in the Amphitheatre, 
 on purpofe that every part of it foould ring 
 with Applaufe, Tacitus fays, they were 
 diftributed through all the Cunei or Wedges. 
 In this Plate, befides the Stairs and Cunei 
 in the middle, the inner covered Ways are 
 alfo reprefented, which we Ihall mention in 
 their due place. 
 
 J a ilorid, cap. 16. Excuneati qaeruntur. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 284 0/ Amphitheatres* 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 An Explanation of the Jirjl Circuit 
 on the Ground-Plot. 
 
 MY Endeavour to follow Order and 
 Method, is what I propole will give 
 me the greateft Affiftance in my prelent Effay, 
 which [as it is to explain the Nature of the 
 inner part of fuch a magnificent Structure as 
 an Amphitheatre^ without the help of a 
 ModelJ is, I think, no fmall Undertaking. 
 I have therefore begun with that which tirft 
 offers itfelf to view, and to treat of it part by 
 part. Where, after exhibiting a general 
 View of the Plan, I have led the Reader to 
 the Area, and enumerated all the Paffages 
 and Gates which lead within it, then exa- 
 mined aii that is feen from the Area : And 
 being dilengaged from fpeaking of the 
 exterior and interior Uprights, what now re- 
 mains is, to treat of that contain'd between 
 the one and the other, and to defcribe the 
 parts which are covered. This Particular 
 has indeed not been hitherto fufiiciently ex- 
 plained, for which realbn the moft wonder- 
 fal part of the elegant Fabric ftill remains 
 hid and unknown. 
 
 After we pafs by the Arches of the firft 
 Enclofure, dcfcribed in the Beginning, we 
 
 enter
 
 0/^Amphitheatres. i8$ 
 
 enter into the firft and exterior Portico: of 
 <--£hTS7''tis proper we ihould treat, before we 
 come within TheBreadth ofit, io thirteen Feet; 
 the upper one has fourteen, gaining one by 
 the internal Degradation of the Wall. The 
 firft Floor [as may be feen in that part which 
 has been uncovered] was paved with very 
 large Flags of the iame Stone with the reft ; 
 the Height from it, to the Middle of the 
 Roof, is twenty-feven Feet four Inches, and 
 the Ceiling is wrought in the following 
 manner : From the firft Pilafters, in the Situa- 
 tion, above the Middle, the like Number of 
 Arches are thrown into the Interior, (as ap- 
 pears in the Gut of the fifth and tenth Plates) 
 confifting of large Stones, four Foot broad 
 each, which is exactly the Breadth of the 
 fecond Pilafters. Between the one and the 
 other of thele arched Lines, the Roof is en- 
 chefted and waved, the Wall remaining Ibme- 
 what higher, and the Arcade of Marble pro- 
 minent downwards in a genteel manner. 
 The Roofs do impoft, or draw in above the 
 thicknefs of the Arches j the Wall of thele 
 Roofs has not any kind of Bricks in it, but 
 is all of Stone, with fuch caution, that a 
 whole one cannot be obferved. Since the 
 round and fmooth Stones cannot bind with 
 the Mortar, (for this reafon, we find they 
 drop off'fo very eafily from our modern Walls) 
 therefore they are broken in Splinters, fo 
 that the rough part of them jfafiens very 
 
 well
 
 l8(5 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 well with Mortar. The Roofs of the Coli- 
 feum are likewife of Stone, and even thefe 
 immured with Arches, yet not of Marble 
 like ours, but of hard Plaifter, and riveted 
 from one Pilafter to another. 
 
 In the fecond Enclofure, the Arena has 
 two Stories, that is, two Orders of Arches 
 one above the other, preferved all round, as 
 may be feen in Plate the third. The Pila- 
 fters, with their Arches, and fomething more, 
 are of the ufual Marble. There are only 
 three of the upper Arches that are not an- 
 tique, but added, and made up about fifty 
 Years ago ; the whole Enclofure is likewife 
 preferved. As to the Walls and Roofs, tho' 
 they have loft the Stairs ; one of them,however, 
 [which is of the Double] has fome fmall Steps 
 in it preferved, and fbme flag Stones of the 
 repaired Floor, and of the lateral Conduit ; 
 and is by liich a Diredion and fure Veftiges 
 fupplied and perfected. The Front of the 
 Pilafters in both Stories, meafures four Feet, 
 taken at the Bottom of the Impoft, and two 
 Inches more taken at the Rife of the Arch j 
 the Side is four Feet fix. In the Ground- Plot, 
 the Height of the Arch is eighteen Feet fix, in 
 the higher, fixteen Feet. The Impoft of the 
 Arches proceed by the fame Order, with that 
 of the firft Enclofure. In it, I Ipoke not of the 
 Breadth of the Gates, or, if we may fay it, the 
 arched empty Spaces j but at prefent we may- 
 conclude
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 187 
 
 conclude about them, from thofe of the fe- 
 Gond, which we ihall confidcr. 
 
 In fpeaking about thefe fecond Doors, I 
 enter now on the Defcription of thofe inter- 
 nal Paffages which could not be underftood, 
 if I had firft begun to have ftiewn the Num- 
 ber and Situation of the Vomitories, being 
 the Boundaries to which they are direfted. 
 The two Arches then at the end of the O- 
 val, which correfponded with the Number I, 
 and XXXVI, marked on the outfide, are 
 both twelve Feet ten Inches wide, and at 
 the Foot of the Capital, thirteen Feet one 
 Inch, and larger than any of the others. 
 The two in the Middle broad- ways, which 
 correfponded with the Numbers XIX and 
 L V, are wide twelve Feet two, and narrower 
 than thefe contiguous to them on either fide, 
 the latter being larger five Inches than they j 
 and even by that it appears how ridiculoufly 
 People have imagined till now, that both 
 were of the fame Dimenfions with the two 
 firft, and larger and more magnificent than 
 the others. The four lateral Arches at the 
 two greateft Gates, are lefs than any of the 
 others; that which is added to the Gates, 
 being taken from the Arches. Their Mea- 
 fure is between ten Feet and a half and e- 
 leven, the fixteen Entries on both hands, 
 eight on each fide of the two in the Middle, 
 crofsways, are in breadth between twelve 
 Feet three Inches, to twelve Feet fix^ the 
 
 like
 
 i88 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 like Number following on all the four Parts^ 
 are between eleven Feet four Inches, to e- 
 leven Feet nine ; which Narrowing comes 
 from the ElHptick Line, where it is infleded, 
 and the Curve becomes greater. Thefe are 
 exaftly the Meafures of all the Arches, it 
 being ufelefs to mark the very precife Di- 
 menfions of them one by one 5 fince we find 
 each of them vary, and irregular by two or 
 four Inches in their different Situations, which, 
 however, ought to correfpond exactly, and 
 where we are fure that the error is Cafual, 
 and proceeds not from a w^ant of Art, lb 
 that the Gonfumption of the Materials in the 
 ruftick Work having mouldered away with 
 Time, hinders us from coming to a minutenefs 
 in thefe particulars, and even in the Coli- 
 feum, which is executed more politely ; the 
 Meafures, both with regard to the Breadth 
 and Height, vary not a little: fo that T>ef- 
 godetz afferted, that even that Amphitheatre 
 was executed with very little exadnefs j but 
 the like Incidents muft neceffarily often 
 happen in fuch vaft Edifices of Stone, 
 wherein very many hands were employed. 
 No Perlbn has hitherto taken the pains to 
 meafure the Breadth of the Entries of the 
 Colileum, which ftill remain, or the others, 
 which are now wanting \ having been pre- 
 poffeflTed in the Opinion, that they were all 
 equal; though it is very credible, that in the 
 greateft Inflexion of any, they don t come
 
 ^ Sz-t'/itin Ti'AtM ,t/ii-n'j u// M^ JhAv/?a/ SMtry ^jjj/ ^ 
 pa/ja<;f^ an^ manner Ami t/i^ .rf-rOnton merrUtib 
 
 .%7^,//./i7,v ill tA^Ji^^/i JAfn-j Mf mf,ru'fH,^^ 
 •///■ r^w /./nvtA^l'l^^fzi-iiJ a, M,(/ ,7rv <U- f>rt/i„tn„ 
 
 i 
 
 L
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. zSp 
 
 up to the original Meafure, and that which 
 is of the greateft Gonfequence of all ; Fon- 
 tanuy by the Prepofleffion he had, that the 
 four diametrical Gates ferved for the fame 
 Ufe, and that Streets of the like Breadth cor- 
 relponded with them, affirmed that they all 
 meafured twenty Palms ;.. the other feventy- 
 fix, nineteen Palms and a third, which would 
 not be a computable Difference for the realon 
 we have already mentioned. 
 
 But the Matter of Faft is, that by fearch- 
 ing with exadnels the two Gates in the Front, 
 length-ways, will undoubtedly be found 
 wider than any of the others, perhaps two 
 or three Feet, and even more. But it will 
 not be difficult to be fure of this by the 
 Arches, which, according to the Drawing, 
 feem to be remaining in the third Enclofure, 
 which correfponds vvith our fecond. 
 
 We ftiall now mention where every one 
 of thofe Entries, and the different Stairs of 
 the firll Enclofure lead, by confidering one 
 fourth part of the Building, fince the other 
 three fourths are exadly alike. The cour-^ 
 teous Reader may caft his Eye on the Plan, 
 and tenth Plate, which fhew a Sedion with 
 the inner Stairs that ne'er have been known 
 before, nor underftood by any who ha\e 
 treated on the Subjed of Amphitheatres. Be- 
 ginning from the Middle length-ways, at 
 Number I. of it, and the other three which 
 follow one another^ we have fpoke of al^' 
 
 U ready.
 
 190 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 ready. At Number VI. we have a Stair of 
 ^.o Steps, interrupted by a Flat; at the end 
 cf \yhich Stair there is a great Window in 
 Front, which pierces through the third En- 
 clofure, and fends Light forward. The Vault 
 of this Space afcends even to the middle of 
 it, then defcends : the reafon is, becaufe iirft, 
 there is a Stair upon it, which goes to a Vo- 
 mitory of the fourth Line, then the remain- 
 der has part of the Steps upon it. Eight 
 of the Vaults are, for the fame realbn, of 
 the iame figure. 
 
 The forementioned Stair proceeds dou- 
 bling with two Branches of fourteen Steps on 
 each fide, then returns, and leads up to the 
 Ambulatory. By thofc two Branches they 
 pafs on each hand by Doors w^ith Archi- 
 traves over them, 9 Feet 5 Inches high, 
 wide 7 Feet 2 5 one Pier thereof, namely, 
 that which would remain, joined to the inner 
 Vv^all, diminifties, and feems to lofe itfelf in 
 the V\^all, in order to leave the Door the 
 more Ipacious; and, if I am not deceived, 
 the wliole is reprefented diftinclly in the Plate. 
 There are alfo four Steps w^hich fill up the 
 Thicknefs of the ether Pier, expreflfed like- 
 wiie in the Plan, which come upon the Flat 
 of the other Branch, as we have faid al- 
 ready. 
 
 • In the fifth and feventh Spaces, there are 
 two Under-fcairs, which form Rooms ; cer- 
 tain Conduits of Marble^ which lay hid, go 
 
 along
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 291 
 
 along with the Stairs near the Wall. Thefe 
 Troughs or Conduits ferved for the Urine in 
 the. higher parts of the Building: of thefe, 
 fe vera! Pieces are preferved, the Breadth of 
 which is one Foot, having difcharged them- 
 felves into other Conduits under ground; 
 of which in its due place. 
 
 There isaPaffage which correfpondswkh 
 the eighth Space, and goes ftreight, even to 
 the inner Enclofure. The ninth and tenth 
 have two oblong Rooms, without any other 
 Outlet. The eleventh had a Stair with an 
 arched Window in Front, which Itrikes the 
 Light in another of the fecond Enclofure. 
 This Stair turned ftreight with a fquare Door, 
 like thofe defcrib'd in the double Stair, and 
 went to the Flat by four Steps, and to the 
 lecond Branch of NumberXII. having a Room 
 under it. Another Paffage follows, leading 
 to the Todmm^ like that at Number VIII. 
 next an oblong large Room, then a Stair with 
 two Branches, like that wc have fpoke of 
 already. The feventeenth has a Way to the 
 ^odhim, as the twoaforelaid^ and the i8th 
 a large Room, with which the fourth of the 
 Building ends in the Ground-Plot j the dia- 
 metrical Palfage following crofs-ways, in the 
 nineteenth, which terminates in the third 
 Portico, and which, on the Right-hand, has 
 fuch another large Room, with a great Win- 
 dow, that looks above the Gallery in the 
 middle. The Stairs appear in the Plan of 
 
 U 2 this
 
 292. 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 this Story, as being thofe which are fixed in 
 the Ground. The Apertures in the con- 
 tiguous Walls are likevvile marked at the 
 fecond Floor, tho' they properly belong to 
 the fecond Story. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of the fecond Story of the Amphi- 
 theatre^ and its Plan. 
 
 AS the firft Enclofure confifts of two 
 Stories, fo, before we proceed to the 
 more inward parts, we mult alccnd to the 
 fecond ; and here it is where the moft artful 
 part of this Building becomes moft confpi- 
 cuous, and whereof, the truth is, all the 
 able Architects who till now have treated 
 on this head, have not had any right Notion 
 at all ; as may be particularly known by the 
 Plans \s\i\Q)\.T>efgodetz and Font ana have 
 given of the lecond Story of the Colifeum. 
 For, befides the Plan's being altogether er- 
 roneous, they don't give us any hint aboutt he 
 Stairs and Paifages by which they came at 
 the Vomitories of the fourth Row, nor how 
 they came out by the Stairs. In the Print 
 1 have Ihewn in what manner both thefe 
 Architefts underftood it. 
 
 I muft, however, apprize the Reader of 
 that which cannot be expreffed by the Plan^ 
 
 namely^
 
 (yAMPHITHEATRES. I9J 
 
 namely, that there are two Pavements in the 
 fecond Story, an interiour one lower, which 
 is that belonging to all the Rooms or Inlets ; 
 that is, above which the fecond Branch of 
 the Stairs lead : The other Pavement is an 
 exterior one, higher, upon the circular co- 
 vered Way or Gallery, to which you ad- 
 vance by new Branches of fmall Steps. We 
 mull likewife premife, that in this Order the 
 Arches are not all of them of an equal 
 height, there being eight which exceed the 
 others by three Feet, namely, the four dia- 
 metrical Arches, and other four in the middle 
 of thefe ; and yet not exaftly in the middle, 
 lince between the one in the middle, length- 
 ways, and the other middle one, crofs-ways, 
 there are feventeen Arches. Hence there are 
 eight which remain on each fide of that in 
 the middle, where the higheft Arch we have 
 mentioned, leaves feven on the fide near 
 the Breadth, and nine on the fide towards 
 the length. 
 
 But now let us begin from the loweft in- 
 ner Floor, upon which all the fecond Branches 
 of the Stairs reft, ilievvn in the Ground-Plot, 
 and let us proceed from Number V. in or- 
 der to humour the Bending of the Stairs ; 
 the Knowledge of which, I believe, will be 
 much facilitated by the Shafts which (hew 
 their Extenfion. See likewiie at Number Vo 
 in the Plan of the fecond Story, that thelelt 
 Branch of the double Stair takes its beginning 
 
 U 3 from
 
 2-94 QA Amphitheatres. 
 
 from a Flat, which finds an Aperture on the 
 Right-hand thereof. This Aperture repxe- 
 fents a round Gate, in height lo Feet 6, 
 broad 7 Feet, which may be obferved as 
 it is exactly in the loth Plate, which you 
 mutt have here before you. By it you 
 go through a PaiTage which takes up the 
 Space of Number IV. the Pavement of 
 which is Ihewn in the laid Plate, by a Part 
 not fhaded, which diftinguiflies it. At the 
 Bottom of the Paflage, there is the inner 
 Gate of one of the Vomitories of the third 
 Round, with fix fmall Steps, which are pre- 
 ferved here m feveral places, and are fhewn 
 in the Drawing. In the lame manner you 
 go to all the Mouths or Openings of the 
 third Line ; that is, that moft of all the 
 Doors of the Entries are likewile prefer- 
 ved in the high parts, and are uniform in 
 all the four Rows; high 7 Feet 9 Inches, 
 wide 6 Feet 6, and all of Stone : the Pave- 
 ment is all of large Flag-ftones ; the fix fmall 
 Stairs are almoft all of red Marble, which 
 afcend from them to come out again in the 
 Stairs; they are one Foot broad, high 10 
 Inches. 
 
 The lame PaiTage, over-againft that by 
 which we enter, has another fquare Gate, 
 7 Feet 6 Inches high, allowing for the 
 Threihold, there remaining 7 Feet which 
 admits Light, with a Breadth of 4 Feet 4, 
 all of huge Stones, about 4 Feet in big- 
 
 nels.
 
 (y Amphitheatres. 295 
 
 nefs. Through it we pafs into the third 
 Space, where there is a Room, in form like . 
 the anterior Paffage, but fhut up at thetop^ 
 and from which you go through a round 
 and leffer Door, without Pilafters of Stone, 
 into a broken Chamber, which perhaps had 
 Light from a Window which might have 
 been in the Wall, and Ihut up on the out- 
 fide^ but thefe Walls are all deilroy'd. 
 Theie two Rooms, with their Doors, could 
 not be fhewn in the Plate ; but it was of 
 confequcnce to fnew the Stairs, with their 
 ^ Paflages and Places of Retreat. 
 
 But here we muft remember, that of tfiefe 
 three Gates, the firft, which from the Plat 
 goes in length along with the Paffage, has 
 no Marks of ever having had Impoils, nor 
 any other Encloliire ^ but the other, which 
 leads into Rooms, appropriated either for lay- 
 ing any thing up in them, or for fome other 
 particular Ule, has two round Holes in the 
 Stone of the Threihold, near the Side-Potts, 
 one on each hand, and two others corre- 
 Ipondent with them, in the Traverfe above ; 
 which racw, that in them the Plinges of 
 two parts of the Gates turned : that, is, two 
 round Pieces of Wood or Metal, which en- 
 tered above and below in the Holes, and 
 turned round, caufing the Impotts to play. 
 By this we difcover the manner of the an- 
 cient Impofts, called 'To/ks by the Latins, 
 and the true Signification of the v/ords Car^o 
 
 U 4 and
 
 1^6 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 and ToltiSy in Greek cj-po(pgt]$, which is as 
 much as to fay, a Thing capable of turning; 
 Rutulus, in the ancient Gloffaries. How- 
 ever, ^ Vitruvius calls thofe Cardines^ round 
 wliich we imagine the World turns, by the 
 Greeks called Toles\ for which reafon, 
 * IJidorus called a Cuneus or Wedge, the 
 Hinge. 
 
 But let us return to Number V. From 
 that Flat, going ftreight forward, we afcend 
 by fix Steps up to the circular Portico ; and 
 turning to the Right, we obferve firft, that 
 in the inner fide, between the Pilafters which 
 correfpond with the two foremention d Rooms, 
 the Mark of a Wall or Pavement, about half 
 the height of a Man, which enclofed them, 
 appears ; being inftead of a Parapet, leaving 
 a free Palfage above for Light. Then at 
 Number II. we find a Stair, with twoBranches, 
 the firfl: confifi:ing of fix fmall Steps, the o- 
 ther of eight, both hollowed out in the breadth 
 of the fame Space. This Stair leads into the 
 little Room which is above the great Gate, 
 where the Arch is higheft ; tho', for all that, 
 the Roof is not higher, but only the Arch, 
 which, contrary to the others, concenters in 
 the Wall, and thereby makes three Feet 
 more of Light. In the inner Point of that 
 Chamber, there is the Gate, with little Steps 
 which lead into that Vomitory of the fourth 
 
 \ Vib.^, c.-j, A 1, 14. f.8. 
 
 Line,
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 197 
 
 Line, fituated on the end of the Oval. On 
 the outfide of the fame Room we fee the 
 beginning of a Vault, which has gone up- 
 wards, with the Veftiges of the Stair upon 
 it, and a Gate in it of fufficient height on 
 account of the Arch, which, as we have 
 faid, riles here more than the others. Where 
 that Stair led, we fliall mention afterwards. 
 
 We fliall now only obferve, that one of the 
 
 four exterior Arches of this fecond FloorjWhich 
 
 by good luck are preferved, gives us plainly 
 
 to underftand, that in thefe eight Situations, 
 
 there have been Partition-Walls of Marble 
 
 ©n each hand, which croffing, took the Stair 
 
 up in the middle, and run from the Pilafters 
 
 of the firft Enclofure to thofe of the fecond, 
 
 fince we fee the Capital cut in the middle on 
 
 the infide, and the Stones cheffeled and made 
 
 Imooth, appearing to have been joined with 
 
 each other. We have likewiie Marks that 
 
 thefe Walls of Partition had Arches, or a Door, 
 
 in the middle, for paflage. But befides, we fee, 
 
 that from the Partition- Walls made of the fame 
 
 Stones, the empty Space of the external Arch 
 
 was fliut up in Front j and that the laid Wall 
 
 was no more than one Foot in breadth, and 
 
 fituated at the middle of the Pilafter. So 
 
 much we learn from the Capital of the fame 
 
 Pilafter being cloven and laid open: The 
 
 Plan, however, has been fupplied here, where 
 
 thefe Tra^erfes are fliewn, and the Stairs 
 
 pointed
 
 ZpS 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 pointed out, of which fure Evidences and 
 Veftiges are found. 
 
 Having defcrib'd the firft five Spaces of 
 the fecond Story, we fliall now proceed 
 to the feventhj in which a Flat appears, 
 the Right-hand Branch of the double Stair 
 leading thereto, and has a Door on the Left. 
 Thofe that were to return to the third Or- 
 der of the Openings, entered by it, and found 
 the Difpofition of the Parts there like that 
 at Number IV. and whoever was to afcend 
 to the laft Order of the four Openings, went 
 up upon the Portico, and in the near eft Space 
 on the Right-hand, found a Stair which has 
 a Door at the end thereof, and likewife the 
 Out-let of the Vomitory. This Stair fails on 
 that of the middle of thofe which are double. 
 At Number IX. there is nothing, the great' 
 Room of the Ground-Plot being at its full 
 Height, even to the Roof or Vault which 
 fupports the Steps. In the VV^alls of thefe 
 Laterals are two Hollows placed perpendi- 
 cularly, which ferve by way of Conduits 
 for conveying away all manner of Naftinels, 
 and for the Water which fell on the Roof 
 of the high Lodge ; where large Pipes of 
 Metal have' been found. The Marks and 
 Veftiges of the Wall, which lerved as a 
 Fence to thofe who walked on the Portico, 
 are feen every where. After the foremen- 
 tioned fmall Steps of Number ^11. v/hich 
 bended towards the left, pafiing by two 
 
 Spaces
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 299 
 
 Spaces above the Portko, in the tenth we 
 find a Stair with two Branches, like that of 
 Number II. only that it bends to the Right, 
 this to the Left. The Remainder of this 
 Space is without any Pavement, like the next 
 of Numb'er IX. By the faid Stair we enter 
 into a fmall Room. Number II. is like that 
 of Number I. with the Door of a Vomitory 
 on one hand, a Stair on the other, which 
 alcended towards the firft Enclofure, and alfo 
 between two Walls. Thefe Separations di- 
 vided the exterior Portico into eight parts, 
 all of them like that already defcribed. 
 
 Number XII. has the lecond Branch of a 
 plain Stair, from the Flat of which, turn- 
 ing to the Left-hand by an arched Door, we 
 enter into a Room directed to one of the 
 third Vomitories i and afcending above the 
 Portico, one might pais thro' both to the 
 Stair at Number X. and by pafling the 
 Door crofs-ways, to the Stair, Number XV. 
 like that of Number VI. both of which lead 
 to the Opening of the laft Order. The four- 
 teenth Space is at its lull height, like that 
 of Number ,IX. Number XVI. leads both 
 to the Opening of the third Line, which is 
 on its Right-hand, and to that of the fourth 
 on its Left. The eighteenth is an empty 
 Space at its full height. In the nineteenth 
 the Arch turns higher, and the little Room 
 alfo, which has Stairs on each hand. Thus 
 have we difculTed what belongs to the fe- 
 
 cond
 
 JOO O/'Amphitheatres, 
 
 cond Story, and fliewn all the Stairs which 
 lead to the two laft Rows of the Vomitories, 
 and likewiie to thofe high Parts which were 
 above the Steps. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Of the interior Covered Ways^ and 
 the Enclofure of the Middle. 
 
 THE Sedion of the largeft Paffage 
 given in Tlate IX. ftiews that after 
 the three Arches above the ifolated Pilafters, 
 there follows another, a Foot higher and two 
 broader. Through it we enter into the 
 middle Ambulatory, the Roof of which is 
 28 Feet high. The Pavement was laid with 
 Flags of the ufual kind of red Marble, ten 
 Inches thick 5 and there are ftill feveral 
 fquare pieces remaining above the Conduit 
 under ground. In this Covered Way, on 
 the part towards the outfide, there are firft 
 of all the Out-lets, with Architraves over 
 them, or the Doors of the Paflages already 
 mentioned ; the Pilafter has 4 Feet on each 
 fide : Next follows the Void or empty Space, 
 of only 4 Feet 10, for the aforefaid reafon, 
 which occafions the two lateral Paflages to 
 have fo fmall an Opening, and are conti- 
 guous to the great ones. The fecond empty 
 Space is 7 Feet, partaking alfo fomewhat 
 
 of
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, 301 
 
 of the Narrowing. Next, is another Door, 
 9 Feet wide, through which goes the Paffage 
 towards the Center. Then follows a Wall 
 correfponding with the three Spaces of the 
 double Stair : then another Door, through 
 which another Paffage goes: After that a 
 Wall, through four Arches j then another 
 Door, and lb goes on^ even to the Door in 
 the middle, croft- ways 5 broad 10 Feet 4, 
 which is one Foot i o Inches lels than the 
 outer one correfpondent with it, on account 
 of the Lines that approach, and which pro- 
 ceed to a Point. The external Side of this 
 fecond covered Way, may be obferved ex- 
 adly delineated in ^late IX. a part of 
 it being in the middle of the Area, and 
 another part on each fide of the Cunei or 
 Wedges. 
 
 All thefe Doors from the ancient Pave- 
 ment to the Arch crofs-ways, which is of 
 very fmall Curvature, are 20 Feet 8 Inches 
 high ; io that the Pofts or Piers made of large 
 Stones go higher than the foot of the Roof, 
 which extraordinary Height ferves to give 
 greater Light to the Portico. But we muft 
 not negled mentioning the Windows which 
 are in two Rows, fome on high at the Bend- 
 ing of the Roof, and fquare with the great 
 Stone above, floping. Of thefe we have 
 made mention, fpeaking of the lecond Branches 
 of the Stairs : They receive Light through 
 an Arch of the fecond Story, and with the 
 z Di-
 
 ^01 0/Am PHI THEATRES. 
 Diredlion of that floping Stone, fends it in a 
 very curious manner into the Rooms, or Pri- 
 fons, which are on the other fide of the Por- 
 tico, as we ihall afterwards mention. There 
 are others fomewhat lower, and arched at 
 the top, and much larger than the others ; to 
 every iirft outer Stair one of thefe correlpond, 
 and are found oppofite to every Stair of the 
 other inner Circuit. Thefe, for the moil 
 part, have been lately fill'd up*, the Paffages 
 being likewife fliut up with Walls, in order 
 to make thefe places ufefuL 
 
 But to return, in order to obferve the other 
 fide of the Portico, the Drawing of which is 
 leen in the fame Plate, from the part over- 
 againft the Wedges. At the beginning of 
 it there is the Wall of a Room, which has 
 its Entry on the other fide, and on this hand 
 only a high and narrow Window, or a Slip, 
 as we ftiall call it : Then there is a Gate with 
 an Architrave, through which you pafs t^ 
 the third Portico, and is as high as that which 
 correfponds with it in its Front. Next fol- 
 lows a fmall Room, which Ihews that it was 
 niade ufe of for a Prifon, but not for Wild- 
 Beafts, becaufe it has the Door too narrow ; 
 and this is form'd by four pieces of Stone, of 
 which, that which makes the Traverfe above, 
 is two Feet high, and enters into the Wall, 
 taking up much more Space than the Door. 
 In the higher part the Architrave follows ; 
 under it is a Window of this Prifon, one Foot 
 
 wide

 
 Of Amphitheatres, 305 
 
 wide and three high, and in this comes the 
 Light from the Window which is oppofite 
 to it, with the Pavement above over-hanging. 
 Theie Doors have a round Hole in the 
 Threfhold, and another above, into which 
 the Poles of the Impoft entered. Next is 
 another Door of the ufual Height, with a 
 Stair confifting of ten Steps, upon which is 
 the inner Door of an Opening of the lecond 
 Row, and beyond it other eight fmall Stairs, 
 which have the TracinBh or Bench above 
 it. The Window above that Stair throws 
 the Light in, and is on the other fide a little 
 lower and arched. The reft goes all on in 
 the fame manner, divided into Prifons, PaC- 
 fages and Stairs, with the fame Diftributions 
 of Light. But the Plan and View of the 
 inner and hidden covered Ways, makes every 
 thing lufficiently underftood. The twelve 
 Prilonshave all the Doors in the fecond Am- 
 bulatory, without any manner of Out-let on 
 the part towards the Area. There is alfo a 
 fmall Loop-Hole befides the Slip of the W^in- 
 dow, which was cut through above the Steps ; 
 the manner of which may be oblerv'd in 
 Ibme fmall ancient Pieces which have fuch 
 round Holes. As to thofe few rough Steps, 
 now mifhapen by the North Winds, I re- 
 member a good many Years ago, having by- 
 chance gone into the Arena ; I jull came in 
 time to hinder, as it were, by mere Force, 
 the Deftruction which the Malbns were about 
 2 to
 
 504 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 to make of them, who had refolv'd to re- 
 move them and put new ones in their place. 
 I was equally lucky on another occafion, in 
 hindering them from demolifliing the fmall 
 pieces which remained of the higheft Roof 
 of all, and from boring, in a cruel manner, 
 the lower Vaults in fixteen places, as Ibme 
 ingenious Ingineers had refblved to do, that 
 fb they might make ufe of it for a certain 
 Affair of their own. But to proceed : We 
 mull take notice, that the PalTages, as 
 well as the Doors and Rooms, do not a 
 little encreafe in breadth, as they come to- 
 wards the middle, being much wider than 
 towards the Point of the Oval. The little 
 Doors, however, of the Rooms or Grotto's, 
 keep all the fame Meafure and Form, which 
 is a Confirmation that they were Prifons for 
 thofe condemned to the Beafts. I don't know 
 in what other place fo many and lb large 
 pieces of the ancient Walls of the Romans 
 are preferved : fo that here, better than any 
 where elfe, we can fee the manner of their 
 Building. They are built of Stones, but all 
 broken ; the Mortar is mixed with, and full 
 of Pebbles or fmall Stones : However, in 
 chat PalTage of Thucydides^ quoted in the 
 fecond Chapter, I have explained it ^ Ghiaia^ 
 where others have not well tranflated \\.7ieces 
 of Stone, This Cement or Mortar, is become 
 fo fblid, as even to exceed Marble itfelf in 
 
 ' X^A/f , reudered, '£rujin La^Ulum, 
 
 hardnels :
 
 0/ A M P H I T H E A t R E S. JOj? 
 hardnefs : this we are confirmed in by confi- 
 dering the marvellous Duration of the four 
 Pieces which belong d to the outer Roof, 
 difcovered on the falling down of the higher 
 parts, which for fo many Ages had bore the 
 many heavy Rains which have beat againft 
 it, and the Injuries of the hard Frolts. The 
 Stones are not continued from above down- 
 wards, but at the diftance of every Yard 
 there is a Courfe of Pilafters, with three Rows 
 of large, broad, four-corner'd Stones, alter- 
 nately. This Order is kept every where, lb 
 that the whole Wall, by thefe different Strata, 
 as we may fay, is better lined and kept {trait ; 
 and the truth is, our modern miftiapen Walls 
 make at the belt but a very dull Figure, 
 whereas in ancient times, the Walls as well 
 as Roofs were made politely, nay, and painted 
 too, as appears by the Remains of the Co- 
 lours found upon Ibme parts of the inner 
 Roofs. In Rome^ in the middle Paffageof 
 the Amphitheatre, not only have the Re- 
 mains of ancient Painting been feen, but o- 
 ther genteel Ornaments of Stucco alio. 
 
 We muft not forget to obferve, that at 
 the top of the Pilafters we find one parti- 
 cular Stone at every Door, larger than any 
 of the others, and which enters two Feet 
 within the Wall, and ferves for the better 
 binding and fixing the whole together. In 
 the Doors towards the inner fide, thefe Key- 
 Stones arc not at the top, but a little above 
 X the
 
 ^od 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 the middle. Nay, in the Windows alfo 
 which have the hanging Laflra, and fend 
 the Light into the Prilbns, there are two fuch 
 Stones, but formed like half the Tail of a 
 Swallow, and appear, as it were, like Wings 
 to the other. 
 
 After this, is the third Portico, but not 
 near lb low as is reprefented in the many 
 Drawings we have of it, but of the proper 
 Height of twelve Feet ; in it, from the fide 
 tow^ards the Area, there is nothing befides 
 the forementioned Apertures, four of which 
 led into the Area through a hanging Laftra, 
 and twelve on the Podium by five fmall 
 Steps. On the other fide, there are only the 
 Doors correlponding to the fixteen Paffages, 
 and two more for the middle Ways in the 
 Breadth, which, in the lait Enclofure, have 
 not an Opening leading to the Podium, as 
 the others, but only an oblong Window, 
 high on the Wall, which comes out on the 
 Steps in order to fupply the dark part of it 
 with Light j but we cannot give its precife 
 Form, becaufc in the Reparations both the 
 parts have been altered. 
 
 The Doors which are in this inner Am- 
 bulatory are fix Feet high, and in the middle^ 
 at the Key-Stone or Quoin, they are raifed 
 fix Inches more: Thofe in the middle are 
 nine Feet three Inches wide, the two neareft 
 nine F'eet, the others fomething left. They 
 are compofed of five pieces of Marble, two 
 
 of
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 507 
 
 of which make the Rows of Pilafters, which 
 are large two Feet in fquare, Ibme three, and 
 the Architrave three. There is a current Opi- 
 nion among Architefts, that whatever is made 
 with an Architrave will with Age fall to the 
 ground ; but I think they never can happen, 
 where they are made like thefe Outlets we 
 have defcribed : for the Key-Stone in the 
 middle is wedged, and, as we fay, Swallow- 
 tail'd. The two Stones on each fide are 
 9 Feet 7 long, fo that there remains 4 Feet 
 and a half on each hand, on the out-fide of 
 the Pilafters, imbedded in the Wall : The 
 eight that are near the two ends of the Oval, 
 has the Traverle of one piece only, and this 
 is the four through which the Paflages go, 
 which is reprefented in Tlate IX. as is a 
 Stone 1 2 Feet in length, the Square of it two 
 Feet and a half thick. Tho', if now-a-days 
 our Mafter-builders were to place fuch Pieces 
 in that Situation, it would, I own, puzzle 
 them a little. Not one of thefe Architraves 
 is broken in the middle, tho' ^ Vafari fays, 
 allthofe of ancient and modern Stones are com- 
 monly fo ; at the fame time he propofes a 
 very good Method for keeping them from 
 breaking, and the truth is, he gave a very- 
 good Example thereof in the beautiful Build- 
 ing of the UJizi in Florence. Of this Fa- 
 bric, thofe who have had occafion to mention 
 it, or to make a Draught of it, have not ob- 
 
 4 Introd. cap.^, 
 
 X z ferved
 
 joS 0/ Amphitheatres; 
 
 lerved what was moft wonderful, that the 
 Front, all around, is out of the Perpendicu- 
 lar; yet, for all this, neither is it perceptible 
 to the Eye, nor does it prejudice the Firm- 
 nefs thereof; in fo much that another Story 
 being afterwards placed above it, and fome 
 hundreds of Marble Bufto's and Statues, yet 
 no part thereof has moved. 
 
 \Vith regard to the inner and Iblid Enclo- 
 fure, we have faid enough already. The 
 Doors which led the Speftators of the greateft 
 Note, by means of five Steps on the Podium, 
 were neither higher than thofe in the upper 
 part of the Building, as one might believe by 
 obferving more Steps cut by their Openings 
 at prefent, than what is obferved by the other 
 Doors ; nor were they left, as iJefgodetz and 
 others have afferted, by imagining, without 
 any Ground, that they ferved for the Admif- 
 fionoftheWild-Beafts; and alfobecaufe, be- 
 fore thefe Doors the Steps, by the Fault of the 
 Repairers, are hampered at prefent ; tho' at 
 firft they have all been equal to the others of 
 the Vomitories, and of the fame Form too. This 
 Enclofiire had no other Doors, nor in it any 
 nearer Rooms, or any kind of empty Space, as 
 has been hitherto believed ; and it was fb far 
 from being contrived that the Beafts might 
 Gome out from it into the Area, that the five 
 fmall inner Steps difcovered at prefent, by 
 which they afcended to the inner Doors, 
 fliew clearly how it was anciently made, 
 and the Method ufed in the Shews, 
 
 But
 
 O/AMPHlTUEATnES. JOp 
 
 But we muft not forget, by recapitulating 
 at prefent, that the inner part of the Amphi- 
 theatre had 66 Entries, including the two 
 great Gates. Of theie, the fix iowermoft at 
 the ends of the Oval, ferved for the Actors, 
 and led into the Area or Field. The other 60 
 were appropriated for the Spectators, and had 
 all different ways, difpoled in the following 
 manner : Twelve ftrait Paffages led to an 
 equal number of Openings above the Podium, 
 which crolTed the Portico's and Enclofures 
 from the exterior A rches : The Stairs confifted 
 of five Steps. In like manner the two dia- 
 metrical Paffages led thither, crofs-ways. 
 Thofe who were obliged to come out by the 
 Openings of the fecond Row, by entring 
 through the 1 6 Paffages which were difpofed 
 at equal Diltances; (nay, there were 18, 
 including the two in the middle, broad- 
 ways :) did not go further than the fecond 
 Portico ; but finding therein the 1 6 Stairs of 
 the fecond Enclofure, they afcended ftraight 
 to their Outlets or Openings. All thole to 
 whom the Wedges or Cunei were affigned, 
 which were correfpondent to the Openings 
 of the two higher Rows, found their Stairs 
 in the outer Portico, eight of which were 
 fingle, the other four double. Whoever 
 was obliged to come forth from tlie third 
 Row, by afcending two Branches of a Stair, 
 remained in the lowelt Floor of the fecond 
 Story, and in the neareft Space to that, found 
 the Door and Steps thereof: But thofe who 
 
 X 3 were
 
 ^10 O/' Amphitheatres. 
 
 were to goon to the 1 6 Openings of the fourth 
 Round, went up above the Covered Way 
 or Gallery, and came out on the Steps two 
 Ways : others, by the eight neareft and ftrait 
 Stairs , and others to the eighth, in two fe- 
 veral divided Branches, and entered into the 
 high little Rooms which had the Vomitories 
 at the top of them. In fine, thofe who had 
 the places aflign'd them, which were higher 
 than all the Steps feen at prelent, entered 
 into the little Clofets, but then proceeded 
 forward, afcending by thofe eight Stairs which 
 crofled the interior Ambulacmmy which we 
 have fliewn in the eleventh Vlate. 
 
 We muft not forget, that there were fix- 
 teen long Rooms, Ibme of which were at 
 their full Height in the firft Enclofure, be- 
 fides eight fmaller ones under the Stairs^ 
 and likewife twenty- eight Prilbns with nar- 
 row Entries, and four Rooms with propor- 
 tionate Doors in the fecond. 
 
 I fliall now lay before the Reader Ibme 
 of the moft confiderable Differences which 
 may be feen in moft of the Plans and De- 
 fcriptions given hitherto of the Amphitheatre ; 
 not, however, with a Defign to derogate in 
 the leaft from the Praife, which I willingly, 
 and in the fulleft manner, fliall give thole 
 who have laboured on this difficult Sub- 
 jetl j but my Intention herein, is to give a 
 right Impreffion of the true Symmetry thereof^ 
 and to confirm what I have already aflerted 
 
 in
 
 (y Amphitheatres. 311 
 
 in this Treatife • tho', I believe, it would 
 be iuperfluous to mention the Authors who 
 have wrote on this head, and yet have not 
 iinderftood Architefture. Lipjtus and Mont- 
 faucon happily dilcuffed the whole Difficulty 
 relating to the Stairs, by faying only two 
 words on the head ; one, by the fingle Ex- 
 preffion ^ dectiffantur^ that the Stairs crofled 
 one another ; which, the truth is^ they never 
 do. The other, by faying they went up to 
 the Vomitory by ^ hidden Paffages; tho' 
 they are, by the by, all of them fpacious 
 and noble, Defgodetz likevvife, who has 
 lucceeded therein better than any of the o- 
 ther Architects, fliews in his Section of the 
 Colifeum, as well in the firft as in the fecond 
 Story, the Crolfings of Stairs ; which, by the 
 by, not only would confound the Oeconomy 
 of the Building, but fpoil the better part of 
 it. Nor am I certain that Serlio drew it in 
 that manner, giving no hint thereof in what 
 he himfelf fays on the Subjeft j but what 
 appears to be fo in his Book, is occafioned 
 rather by the Errors of thole who engraved 
 his Plates ; fince there never could have been 
 Stairs which meet one another, nor could 
 ever the Foot of the Stairs, in the Gallery, 
 in the middle, proceed towards the outer 
 part of the Building ; by which People would 
 have been obliged to have come forward, and 
 
 5 Ca^. 2 1 . Becujlfdntur. 
 
 5 Tom, 3. jf.ij^. ter occultos meatus, 
 
 X 4 then
 
 212^ 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 then to return back again. So that the AC- 
 fercion of * T>efgodetz was but ill grounded, 
 when he faid, that in the Stairs of the firft 
 Enclofare, they entered not only from the 
 fecond Gallery, or Covered Way, but alfo 
 from the third ; which is as much as to fay, 
 the firft and fecond in our Arena. There 
 would not have been much to be learned 
 from the Architefture of the Amphitheatre, if 
 fas they have hitherto made People believe^ 
 in fo many places there had been two Stairs, 
 one againft the other, made in an ulelefi 
 manner, to proceed, all of them, towards 
 the fame Point. So likewife in the Drawing 
 of the Amphitheatre of Capita^ the Stair at 
 the Letter E, made to go backward, is not 
 right i nor is the reft done with greater Cor- 
 reftnefs, the whole being copied from the 
 Imagination of Ltpfiiis, Above all^ it is won- 
 derful, that no body has Ihewn the manner 
 how People were led to the Openings of the 
 third and fourth Rows, nor the Diftributions 
 of the Paffages belonging to them. 
 
 ^Defgodetz^ in his Plan, diftinguifnes the 
 Stairs that go upwards, and others which go 
 down, as if they were not all of them ori- 
 ginally defigned for leading the Spectators 
 up to the higher parts of the Building ; and 
 fays, that the Light on the middle Gallery, 
 or Covered Way, comes from certain Slips 
 of Windows. But thofe Windows he points 
 oat, in imitation of SerliOy in the m.iddle of 
 ^ p. 246. the
 
 of Amphitheatres. 315 
 
 the Gallery itfelf, were not made to give 
 Light; becaufe, Icarcely is there any thing 
 remaining to be illuminated by them,by realbn 
 of the great Height where they are placed, 
 and the frnall number that there are of them : 
 Tho' I own, they are made to refled the* 
 Light on the Prifons, and on the Stairs that 
 are more forward ; the Gallery itfelf recei- 
 ving Light from the many and high Inlets 
 or Doors in it. At the Opening or Mouth 
 of all thefe Inlets in the Gallery, in the Plan 
 of the Arena, he makes Steps, which neither 
 are, or ever could have been : As, in like 
 manner, in the firft Enclofure, he made all 
 the Stairs double, when one only in the 
 fourth Round is fo. 
 
 Then with regard to the fecond Story, 
 which, by curious Enquiry in the Amphi- 
 theatre of Verona^ might make the whole 
 plain and intelligible ; neither does he give 
 a Plan thereof, nor mentions a word about 
 it, tho' he does about that of the Colifeum, 
 but has been far from confulting truth therein; 
 and yet that is the very part which he ought 
 to have confidered more diligently than any. 
 For the greateft Difficulty in this Building, 
 confifts in well underftanding in what manner 
 People went up to the higher parts of it, and 
 how the Palfages were fo contrived as not to 
 crofs one another. Befides, he marks out a 
 Stair crofs-ways, upon the third Space of the 
 piiddle Enclofure, which agrees not with 
 
 the
 
 JI4 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 the Symmetry of the Building, nor in that Si- 
 tuation or Manner could it have flood there. 
 In the firft Enclofure he entirely omits all 
 the oblong Rooms, which ferved for ufeful 
 Repofitories ; for where could they otherwife 
 have laid up lb many wooden Utenfils, In- 
 ftruments and Accoutrements, which were ne- 
 ceflary in the Shews? Nay, "^ Vitruvius 
 Ipeaking of the Theatres, fays, that in fuch 
 places they had Magazines of NecefTaries from 
 the City. In the fecond Enclofure, inftead 
 of Prifons he fliews many Outlets into the 
 inner Portico ; which would indeed have 
 been ufelefs, fince two uniformly alike, near 
 one another, are feen no where. In the 
 Roman Amphitheatre, he makes the diame- 
 trical Paffages come crols-ways into the Area, 
 which is repugnant to the nature of the thing, 
 for many reafons, as is already ftiev/n. So 
 that as well in that of Rome^ as the other 
 of Verona^ he makes the Vomitories lower 
 than they ftiould be, leaving out every where 
 the Steps which led to the Podium, without 
 having confidered that it was neceffary like- 
 wife that they fliould have afcended or en- 
 tered Ibmewhere j and that by afligning all 
 thefe Openings to the Area, the Podium which 
 was the moft noble place of any, remains 
 confequently without any Entry at all. Nor 
 was it convenient to delcend to it from the 
 fecond Row of Vomitories, and from the 
 Steps, fince even the very loweft Rank of 
 J?L.^f.9. the
 
 of Amphitheatres. 315 
 
 the People were never obliged firft to go 
 up, and then come down again. 
 
 Theie Remarks I have made about T^ef- 
 godetz,^ becaufe I have found him, notwith- 
 ftanding what has been faid, more defer- 
 ving Confideration than the others ; moft 
 of the other Books wrote on this head being, 
 as it were, wrote at random, and as their 
 Fancies have led them. So that from what has 
 been faid, we may gather, if I am not mi- 
 ftaken, how remote the Study of Antiquity 
 is from that Degree of Perfedion to which 
 it is commonly believed, and as the many 
 fplendid Volumes commonly ftiew it; by 
 which that kind of Merchandife is current 
 every where, fpreading its Gloominefs over 
 the Globe, 
 
 CHAP. XIL 
 
 Of the higher Stories on the inner Side 
 of the Building. 
 
 nr^ H E Effays hitherto made by Authors 
 ^ on the Subjeft of Amphitheatres, have 
 been very commendable ; and a fine thing it 
 is, to reprefent thole Parts of the Fabric, which 
 tho' not fubfifting at prefent, have however 
 left behind them manifeft Evidences and 
 Marks, that they have been. Butwhat fhallwe 
 fay at prefent, when we are forced to attempt 
 the Defcription of thofe highermoft Rounds 
 or Enclofures which appear no more^ and in 
 • the
 
 ^i6 O/'Amphitheatres. 
 
 the Situations of which, there remains nothing 
 but Air, incapable of having any Mark left 
 in it at all ? 
 
 In treating of this, it is neceffary, firft of 
 all to direct our Thoughts on the Amphi- 
 theatre of Rorae^ in which a Method is left 
 to find out fome Traces of it, and thereby 
 gatxher Conjectures about that of Verona. 
 
 That the Colifeum had likewife within it 
 other Stories, ere£ted proportionately above 
 the Steps of which we have already treated, 
 the outer parts thereof plainly indicate i 
 but how and in what manner they have been, 
 is not pofGble to afcertain wholly. 
 
 In Prints, the truth is, we have no more 
 to defire that way, fince there have been 
 feveral Defigns publiftied, which fiiew the 
 Infide witho Jt any Want at all. Among o- 
 thersj we feethofe of Lipjtus znd Font anay 
 tho' the fad is, they are all Chimeras; it 
 being undoubtedly certain, that the inner 
 and higher parts of the Building muft have 
 been exceedingly different from what they 
 have imagined about them. But laying afide 
 any other Arguments on this head, it isf ma- 
 nifeflly certain, that the moft wonderful part 
 of this Edifxce confifted in the inner fide, 
 being all Front, the whole Space from top 
 to bottom being divided among the Specta- 
 tors. But, according to the Fabrics made 
 v/ich the Pen by the forementioned able Men, 
 no lels than the half v/ould have remained 
 
 filled
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 317 
 
 filled up by a blind Wall, like the common 
 Views we have of Houles and other Build- 
 ings. Thefe Authors had no further Confi- 
 deration about the vaft number of Specta- 
 tors which flowed into the Amphitheatre, 
 nor about the Impoffibility that fo many could 
 have been contained upon, or in the Steps 
 hitherto defcribed. 
 
 We read in Tublhts VtBor^ that the Co- 
 lifeum contained eighty-feven thoufand places 
 within it ; fome Texts have feventy-feven 
 thoufand : Lipfius imagined it ought to be 
 underftood of the known Steps only 5 but 
 we have obferved already, in Chap. II. that 
 the Steps of our Arena admitted no more 
 than twenty-two thoufand People to fit on 
 them; nor could a greater number be con- 
 tained there of old. Now, calculating with 
 Exaftnefs accordin?- to the Meafures on the 
 Steps of the Colifeum, and even allowing a 
 great deal in that Calculation, within the 
 Cunei or Wedges of the Roman Amphi- 
 theatre, no greater number than about thirty- 
 two or thirty-four thoufand People could 
 have been contained. So that, if ViBor 
 did not Itrecth the number a little too much, 
 we mult conclude that about fifty thoufand 
 had places in the higher part of the Build- 
 ing, and on the Steps which we fee at 
 prelent. The upper part of the Amphi- 
 theatre, 'tis certain, contained a great num- 
 ber of Spectators j nay, much more than 
 I what
 
 giS 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 what had Seats on the Steps, as will appear : 
 But they could not have been contained there, 
 ifi according to the Ideas of our Antiquaries, 
 the two Stories above had been built in- 
 wardly ; for in that manner, very few Peo- 
 ple could have been placed, the greateft part 
 •of the Situation loft, and the extreme Height 
 of fuch a Pile have three P^ifths of it ren- 
 dered of no ufe at all. 
 
 To pretend to explain precifely the Form 
 and the Particulars of the inner fides of thefe 
 two Stories, is vain to imagine ^ but with re- 
 gard to the Structure or Building in general, 
 we know where to recur with certainty, 
 namely, to Medals ; to which thole who have 
 wrote about Amphitheatres ought to have 
 had recourfe, and not to Invention. From 
 the top of the Steps to the exterior Enclofure 
 in the Colifeum, there was the Space of two 
 ample Portico's. We fee, however, in the 
 Medals oi'Tlate I. that on one of them there 
 were new Rows of Steps, which filled up 
 the higheft places; for the fmall Globes mark'd 
 out in them, reprefent Spectators. The Prints, 
 on the other hand, would make us believe, 
 that a Partition-Wall was erefted, with 
 Windows and Doors, above the third Wall. 
 ' Apukius mentions Windows, Pillars, and 
 Statues on high in the Infide ; but in this 
 Paffage he fpeaks of a 1 heatre, and indeed 
 there are feveral things in his fictitious Ac- 
 
 counts,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 319 
 
 counts, that we ought not to regard : For he 
 makes his Theatre to have had Drainers for 
 Water, and a Roof; and, in another place, 
 exhibits ^ Shews of Wild-Beafts in it. Of 
 fuch Partition- Walls, with Windows in the 
 Amphitheatre and Doors, we have not the 
 leall Mark of them in any Medal whatlbever ; 
 but however, we may gather from the firft 
 three, which were coined at a time when 
 Arts flouriihed, and which Ihew Diftinftion 
 and Perfpe£tive; that in thefe Steps, tho' 
 much fewer in number, there was Place for 
 a confiderable Body of People, and perhaps 
 but few lefs than what were contained in the 
 Places already defcribed : and this, not only 
 on account that thefe Rounds or Seats men- 
 tioned laft, extended more in Breadth than 
 the former, but becaufe we fee no kinds of 
 Vacancies in them at all j whereas in the 
 lower a great deal of room muft neceflarily 
 have been loft by the Apertures, the fmall 
 Stairs, the TracinBiones or Benches, and 
 the two great Doors. 'Tis moreover credible, 
 that thefe Steps higheftofall, wereleis com- 
 modious, and therefore lefs, and nearer one 
 another, than thole below, being only appro- 
 priated for People of the loweft Rank. On 
 the outer fide of the Colifeum we lee Ibme 
 Openings, alternately placed between the 
 Pedeftals of the fourth Story, which may 
 have given Light to fome fmall Covered Way 
 
 • Ub. 10. 
 
 or
 
 ^10 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 or Gallery, appointed for the Paffage of the 
 Workmen, who in numbers went to the top 
 of the Building, to manage the Curtain or 
 Pavilion. 
 
 The other Space, which came to fall on 
 the firft Poitico, was filled up by a Round 
 of large Covered Lodges, in which a great 
 number of people were contained ; as we 
 may underfland by the very great Enlarge- 
 ment of the Round, and likewife by the 
 Height, in which the fourth Story, at leaft, 
 in the Colileum, exceeded greatly any of 
 the other three, as we have feen already. 
 So that it is probable, that the Roofs of thele 
 Lodges were under the great Windows which 
 we fee in the fourth Story of the Colileum ; 
 fo that both Air and Light might come into 
 it, when the Amphitheatre was covered. For 
 my part, I dare not however affirm it, for 
 the Medals feem as if they came up even to 
 the very Top of all. 
 
 That the higheft part of the Amphitheatre, 
 where the Spectators flood, was covered, is 
 confirmed by a Paffage oiCalphurnius, among 
 the others, which we very foon fhall men- 
 tion in the next Chapter. In this part the 
 Amphitheatre was like the Theatre of which 
 Vitruvms names, the Roof of that ^Portico 
 which comes to be above the higheft Grada- 
 tion. Of fuch a Portico, and of luch Lodges, 
 l^io is to be underftocd according to Xi- 
 philine^ where he fays, that in the Games 
 
 exhibited
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, jir 
 
 exhibited by Nero^ by way of a feigned 
 Honour done in memory of ii is Mother, who 
 was murdered, an Elephant s r^as drawn 
 up to the upper Roof of the Theatre^ and 
 from it was brought down by Ropes^ carry- 
 ing a Man on its Back. Whether this won- 
 derful Fad was performed in the Theatre 
 or Amphitheatre, Xiphilines method in ufing 
 that word, fometimes for the one, Ibmetimes 
 for the other of thele Buildings, leaves us in 
 doubt : But be that as it will, the Verfion made 
 of T>io into Latin^ makes the thing too won- 
 derful; for, according to it, the Elephant 
 was not drawn up to that terrible Height, 
 but went up to it on foot; not by Ropes, 
 but by walking upon a Rope. Hence fome 
 have underjftood, that the walking Elephants 
 on Ropesj according to Suetonius^ fliewn for 
 the firft time by Galba, did dance upon thefe 
 Ropes. In the Greek the plural Number is 
 ufed ; and fo does Tliny^ when he writes, 
 that the Elephants were taught to + walk 
 upon Ropes. Perhaps there may have been 
 ieveral Ropes joined together, which formed 
 a Plain, or Floor, fufficient for thefe huge 
 Animals to walk upon : But, be that as it 
 will, that which the Hiftorian relates about 
 
 « Lib,6l. 'E\i(^:t? ctJ^HX^W Sf tUu dv6&TciT^ T» 05XTpJf 
 
 tpifCOV. 
 
 Elephas introducius in Theatrum in fummHrn ejus forn^ 
 zonfcendh^ atque inde vehens hominem in fune ambulavitJcem 
 4 Li6,B. t.2.^ 3. Ferfmes ince/sire adverfifHmbus. 
 
 Y Nero^
 
 |21 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Nero's Shews, was wery wonderful, with 
 regard to the great Height thereof. 
 
 At prefent I fhall mention what will be 
 entirely new to many, who think that the 
 top of the Colonades was Compofite, "uiz. that 
 the interior Parts of thefe two Stories we have 
 defcribed, that is, the Steps and Lodges, 
 were of Wood. Tarquin gave a Sample of 
 fuch a Strudure in the Circus ; having, as 
 * ^ionyfius ziTcxts, made the lower Seats of 
 Stone, the irpper of Wood. By this we 
 come to underftand thofe Paflages of 'Dio, 
 Larnpridius^ St. Jerom and other Writers, 
 quoted in the firft Book ^ in which we read, 
 that Conflagrations fometimes happened in 
 the Amphitheatre ; becaule, had the Build- 
 ing in every part been of the fame Matter 
 with what remains, it never could have been 
 fet on fire. Hence it is that ^T>io expreffed, 
 in the great Fire mentioned in another place, 
 tliat the Amphitheatre itfelf did not burn, 
 btit all the upper Round of it, together with 
 what were not Parts of the Amphitheatre. 
 That Fire is defcribed by the Hiftorian as 
 fb very violent, that it could not have cer- 
 tainly happened, and continued to be fo ra- 
 ging, but where there was a vaft Quantity 
 of Wood. From that PalTage it likewife 
 appears, that the number of Speftators, af- 
 ferted by Vt6lor^ could not have been all 
 
 5 Lib. I, ai J^' UTScafo/ JyA/f£t<. 
 
 accom-
 
 O/^Amphitheatres. 52i 
 
 accommodated with Seats on the Steps of Stone, 
 as Lipfitis imagined, but that a great number 
 were placed in the two uppermoft Stories; 
 for without them they could not exhibit 
 Games in the Amphitheatre. Befides, the 
 northerly Circus in Conjiantinople was cer- 
 tainly fuch a kind of Building ; for we read in 
 the Chronicle oiMarcellinus^ that in the time 
 of the Emperor Anaftafitis, the Steps of it 
 were burnt ; namely, thofe that were the 
 higheft of all, together with their Roof, that 
 is, the covered Lodge. 
 
 That the higheft part of the Building was 
 Wood, we may alio learn from Medals, 
 fince in them we perceive, that thefe Lodges 
 were not arched, but with Architraves, a 
 ftrait Poft being placed between every large 
 Space. This is fufficient for giving us to 
 underftand, that the whole was of Wood, 
 and muft have contributed greatly for lea- 
 ving the Space open, and the View uninter- 
 rupted to the Speftators, who, in the firft 
 Medal, are feen placed even to the very Top 
 of the Building. For Pilafters of Stone, and 
 Arches, would have taken up a great part 
 of the Situation there 'Tis true, that ac- 
 cording to Xiphiline^ in the account of the 
 Elephant juft now hinted at, he calls that 
 higher part Affis^ which commonly fignifies 
 Arch, or Vault \ but here it muft not be un~ 
 derftood of the empty Spaces between the 
 Pilafters, which were arched above, but of 
 
 Y z the
 
 314 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 the whole Roof made like a Vault. How- 
 ever, in a Paffage of TertuUian^ which we 
 Ihall mention in another place, that part was 
 hinted at by the word Camene^ which in 
 Latin fignilies the fame as Vaults. Vitm- 
 *uius^ in the .forementioned Paffage, called it 
 Tortico^ it being fo in effeft, tho' of other 
 Materials, and higher than the reft. Cal- 
 phurmis gave it likewile the fame Deno- 
 mination in the Verfes already quoted • of 
 this we muft underftand where he mentions 
 the '^ Tortico laid over with Gold^ nay, in 
 the Eclogue itfelf, where the Paffage is well 
 read and underftood, it is expreflly faid fb. 
 
 Vidimus in Coelum trabibus Jpe£iacula 
 
 textis 
 Surgerey Tarpeium profe defpeBantia 
 
 culmen^ 
 Immenfofque gradtis. 
 
 Spe£iacula fignifies here as much as fmail 
 Rooms or Clofets, into which the Lodges 
 appear to have been divided. So muft 
 ^ 'Tlautus be underftood, where he mentions 
 that the Wind beat dowri the Spe^acula\ 
 and 5 Cicero^ where he fays, that Applatife 
 was excited in all the Spe^acula s and * Livj^y 
 that in the Circus every one made his own 
 Spe^actila. Thele Rooms were made tra- 
 
 ' JEn illita Vorticus auro. 
 
 ^ Chvc. a. f. f I. 9 Cic. in Sejl, -k Lib, i, 
 
 bibus
 
 O/^ Amphitheatres. 315 
 
 bibus text is J as it ought to be read ; which 
 manner of fpeaking is taken from Virgil^ 
 where he fays, that the Trojan Horfe was 
 made roboribus textis, Calphtirnnis there- 
 fore law in the Amphitheatre an immenfe 
 number of Steps and Lodges, higher than 
 the top of the Tarpeian Rock, all which 
 were compofed of Beams. For this reafbn 
 were they gilded ; and this is the interior 
 Circumference of the Theatre, which Nero 
 caufed to be gilded on account of Tiridates 
 being prefent at them; it being not well 
 tranflated by ' ° Xiphiline^ when he fays, he 
 cauled the inner-fide of the Theatre to be 
 gilded all around. In all thefe places put 
 together, the number of Spedators mentioned 
 by Vi£ior^ might very well have been con- 
 tained. The Circus, 'tis certain, held a much 
 greater number, fince even that of Tarquin 
 was fufficient to contain a hundred and fifty 
 thoufand Spectators, if we can believe ^ ^ T>io- 
 nijitis ; and the Circus maximus of Cafar^ 
 according to '* ^liny, two hundred and 
 forty thoufand ; but there was no wonder 
 in that at all, fince it was three Stadias 
 in length : It was rather a greater Won- 
 der to find eighty thoufand contained in ib 
 finall a Space as that of the Amphitheatre, 
 which, in comparifon with the Circus, was 
 fmall ; befides, the Circus was ftill more en- 
 
 JO Lib. 63. 77 ^J^^€^cL ctvT4 mart ^vJ^oQiV ^fi^rn to- 
 turn, &c. '? Lib.^. " I- ^^-c.if. 
 
 Y 3 ^^^Z^^
 
 ^l6 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 larged by Trajan, than what it was before 
 his time. 
 
 The Form of the Amphitheatre of Rome 
 givxs us to underftand in what manner that 
 of Verona has been built, in the higher 
 parts of it. Tho' we muft remember, that of 
 the two Spaces on high, which correfpond 
 with the two external lower Portico's, that 
 of Verona had only but one \ the Enclo- 
 fiire in it not being doubled, as in that of 
 Rome, A great part of the Steps of Wood 
 ought to have been lefs, fince the Lodges 
 on high were a neceffary Finilhing and Or- 
 nament to the whole. But what thefe really 
 were, 1 fhall not prefame to affirm. In fome 
 ancient Pieces of the higheil Steps of all, 
 "'tis obferved that uniform Spaces are kept, 
 and counter-marked, and always of three 
 Feet and a half in length : Thefe Spaces 
 come even to the middle of the Step, and 
 leave as much Place as one may conveniencly 
 fit in them. In fome likewife there are 
 two Holes, as if they were made for Pivots 
 to turn in them. It would feemto indicate, 
 as if Pilafters of Stone had been correfpon- 
 ding with that on the outfide : if ^o^ Li- 
 gorio gueffed right, when in his Plan he 
 drew it in that manner. But it is the con- 
 trary, for the third Pavement is not of Flag- 
 Stones, nor fupported by a Vault of the 
 Wall, but appears to have been of Wood ; 
 
 be.
 
 Of Amfkitheatres. 317 
 
 becaule the Modilions which are prominent 
 inwardly, and formed by the fame Stones 
 which on the outfide make the Frieze of 
 the third Story, are hollowed crofs-ways, 
 and adapted for receiving the Travatures. 
 We likewile fee in the Fafcia which is above 
 them, fcveral Holes in which the Traverles 
 of the Ceiling entered, or other things of 
 Wood and Iron which belonged to it. That 
 the third Floor or Ceiling was of Wood, we 
 may conclude likewife, becaufe the external 
 Partition- Wall [in which the third Story is 
 reduced] has no Thicknels capable of leffen- 
 ing fo much in the fourth, as was fufficient 
 to impoft another Roof of the Wall a-new : 
 As it is in the two below the uppermoft Or- 
 der, where the Windows were, perhaps, not 
 higher than the others, as in the Arena of 
 Rome \ but was lower like that of Tola and 
 NimeSy and perhaps remained free to thofe 
 who managed the Awning or Cover of the 
 Amphitheatre. Be that as it will, we cannot 
 doubt but that there was as much room for 
 near as many People in the higher parts of 
 the Building, as what were contained on the 
 Stone Steps below. 
 
 Y 4 CHAP.
 
 318 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 C H A P. XIIL 
 
 "The Order and Manner how the 
 SpeElators were placed. 
 
 SINGE we have already treated of all 
 the Places in which the Speftators fat, 
 'tis neceflary we fhould fay fomething with 
 regard to the Manner how they were placed, 
 and the Order kept therein. Since this has 
 a good deal of relation with the Nature of 
 the internal Form of the Building, fuch an 
 Account will ferve for making us comprehend 
 the better what is already faid, and for un- 
 derftanding many Paffages of ancient Authors. 
 But not to make Digreffion, I ftiall not pre- 
 tend to trace the Hiftory of its Inftitution, 
 which v/e find begun in the C/m, even in 
 the time of the Kings of Rome^ nor fhall I 
 fpeak of the Changes which happened. It 
 is certain, fome general Dittinftion among 
 the Spectators was made in Amphitheatres. 
 Firfty There was that of the Senatorian 
 Order, and thofe others pofTeffed of the chief 
 Dignities. This moft noble Glafs had their 
 Places on the Todtum^ and all around it : In 
 the middle of it there was a Box, that was 
 locked up, called the Suggefium or CtibicU" 
 lum^ appropriated for the Emperor. In the 
 Theatre of Rome-, there were Boxes for the 
 other dignified Perfons allb, mentioned by • 
 
 Vitni"
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 319 
 
 ^ Vitruvins by the Name of Tribunals ; and 
 * Suetonius fpeaks of that of the T rat or. In 
 the Amphitheatre I find no mention of them. 
 Another Diftindion was for thofe of the 
 Equeftrian Order. We Jearn from ^ T>iOy 
 that Lucius Rofcius (by Surname Otho) 
 Tribune of the People, in the Year 687 of 
 Rome^ introduced a Law, carefully to fe- 
 parate the Seats of the Equites from the 
 others. •♦ Tliny writes, that the Tribes, at 
 the perfuafion of CicerOy pardoned him for 
 having made fuch a theatrical Law ; fuffer- 
 ing willingly on his account, that their In- 
 feriority, by fuch a Difference, ftiould be- 
 come the more confpicuous. But Juvenal 
 could not help fhewing his Anger on account 
 of this Faft 5 and tho' it was a long time 
 after it had been put in praftice, could not 
 refrain laying, That fo did it pleafe the vain 
 Otho to make fuch a T>iJiinttion. 
 
 We learn from the Epitomy of ^ Livy^ 
 that the fourteen lowermoft Steps were ap- 
 pointed for the Roman Equites ; and be- 
 caufe the Diftinftion of the Rank depended 
 on the Tax they paid, for that reafcn, in 
 Auguftus's time, many Equites who were 
 decay'd in Fortune, did not dare, on that 
 account, to fit in any of the forementioned 
 fourteen Steps or Rows. But this number 
 might be kept in the Theatre, where theSena- 
 
 ^ Lib. I, r. 7. * Aug. r.44. 3 /. 35. 4 I. "J, c. 3. 
 
 i ^- 99- 
 
 tor$
 
 IJO 0/ Am PHI THEATRES. 
 
 tors and People of Quality in Rome^ flood 
 in the Pit. But it is credible, in the Amphi- 
 theatre, where the Todium could not be 
 fuiBcient for thofe of the firft Rank, thofe 
 of the fecond Clafs having been encreafcd in 
 great numbers, their places were alio extended 
 higher up in the Building ; in effed, the 
 number of fourteen Steps up to the firft 
 Bench or Precindion, does not anfwer in 
 cur Amphitheatre, lb as to make us be- 
 lieve, that they were confined under that 
 Bench. I Ihall iikewile add, that in the 
 Amphitheatre, it feems they did not only 
 regard the Divifion by the Steps, but more 
 particularly thofe of the Ctmei or Wedges, 
 fome of thefe being affigned entirely to the 
 Senatorian and Equeftrian Orders. For iJ/^^- 
 tonius jcl^itQs^ that the greateft part of thofe 
 Tejfer£ or Counters, which T) omit i an caufed 
 to be thrown in the Amphitheatre, by virtue 
 of which, thofe who catqhed any of them, 
 were entituled to the feveral Things, by 
 way of Gifc, fpecified in every Counter; 
 which, for the moft part, having fallen a- 
 mong the Popular Places or Seats, the Em-r 
 peror commanded that fifty of them Ihould 
 be diftributed, not to thofe fitting on the 
 Steps, but ^ to every one of the Wedges of 
 the Senatorian or Equeftrian Orders. Nor 
 certainly could fo many Senators be contained 
 on the Todiumy nor fo many of the firft 
 
 * Dom. f.4. In /ingitlos Cunm Ei^uejhis ac Senmtorh ordlnis. 
 
 Rank,
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, 331 
 
 Rank, as came with their refpeftive Divifions 
 to the Shews. For of the facred Dignitys, 
 '' Arnobius enumerates the Tontifices^ the 
 Curiones Maximi^ ^^t'mdecm Vtrt\ Fla- 
 mines y Augures^ and Vejtales. In the C/r- 
 ciis^ Claudius appointed feveral and pecu- 
 liar Seats to the Senators ; and Nero to the 
 Equites, as Tliny, Suetonius and Tacitus in- 
 form us. 
 
 The Tribunes fat in the fame, places of 
 the Amphitheatre with the Equites ; of which 
 firft kind the number was great, for there 
 were thofe Civil as well as Military : and it 
 was enough to entitle them to fuch places 
 that they had been once of that Degree. 
 Nay, ^ ^orfirio^ the ancient Interpreter of 
 Horace^ fays, that the two firft Ranks were 
 of the Tribunes. The Liberti were, with 
 much Precaution, excluded fuch places. So 
 that 9 Auguftus forbid the Legati of free 
 People to fit among the Senators, becaule he 
 knew that fometimes Ibme who were only 
 of the Rank of the Liberti, had been fent 
 in that Charader. And ' ° 'Dio remarks as a 
 fingular Inftance, that a certain Tribune of the 
 People, w^ho caufed his Father, tho' a Liber-- 
 ttis, or Freed- Man, to fit near himfelf in the 
 Amphitheatre, that the faid Aftion was not 
 imputed to him as a Crime. The Women fat in 
 the Covered Lodges, in the upper part of the 
 
 7 Uib.if. S Ad lib, E^od. 9 Suep. c,^^. 
 
 J° Lib. 53. 
 
 Building j
 
 ^31 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 Building ; where it is credible there may 
 have been other Steps on which their Chairs 
 ^ere .placed, as Calphurnius mentions. 
 
 From 'Tiiitarch it appears, that in the 
 time of Scylla, Women and Men fat promit- 
 cuoufly together at the Shews. In Ovid's 
 time, they flood in the fame manner in the 
 Circus : Where, in his Treatife of Love, he 
 gives us to underftand, that the Men made 
 their Court to the Ladies, by taking care 
 that none fitting behind them fhould in any 
 ways moleft them. But 0£tavianus fepara- 
 ted them, and would not that they fhould be 
 placed but in the higheft Parts, and this even 
 if Gladiatory Combats alone were to be per- 
 formed. He only made an exception of 
 the Yeftals, to whom he appointed the beft 
 Places in the Theatres. And that they had 
 Seats likewife on the T odium, we learn from 
 Trndentitis, The Ladies of the Blood Roy- 
 al, or Augiifl£^ fat very often among the 
 Veftals. But on the higher Parts of the 
 Building, the loweft Rank of the Plebeians 
 flood behind the Women's Chairs, as did 
 the others who had no particular Place af- 
 fign d them. Such was the general Diftri- 
 bution of the Places in the Amphitheatre, it 
 being impoHible to determine about them 
 in a more particular Manner. If we remark 
 a Paflage in the Eclogue mentioned already 
 vci feveral Places, it would feem that all the 
 Steps, even up to the Lodges^, were filled 
 
 up
 
 0/Amphitheatres. jji 
 
 tip Ibmetimes by the People of Rank : For 
 the Poet fays, that he himfelf was once 
 forced to go among the Chairs of the Wo- 
 men where the common Plebeians were 
 ftanding \ having found that on account of 
 the great Concourfe of People, all the Places 
 were filled up by the Equites and Tribunes. 
 It is very credible, that among the popular 
 Seats they were divided into Tribes, every 
 Individual having his own Place affign'd him. 
 Thus it feems to have been neceffary, in or- 
 der to ftiun a Crowd, or Confufion and Dif- 
 order \ of this we have a Hint in an an- 
 tient Gloflary, which renders the Word 
 Cuneus Theatric (pvX7\ GgaT^?. 
 
 By what has been faid, we may, I think, 
 underftand the Divifion of the Cavea fpoke 
 of by Writers in the Jirjty middle and highefi 
 Spaces, the Signification of which Words 
 have not been well underftood. " Lip- 
 Jius thinks by the firft, is meant the loweft 
 or whole Equeftrian Order; by the middle 
 and high Spaces, the other Marble Steps. 
 '* Bulinger thought by them the Divifion 
 of the ^racinBlones or Benches is to be 
 underftood : But the truth is, as to the firft 
 mentioned by Cicero^ the Sodium was un- 
 derftood, and perhaps the lowermoft Steps 
 too, which were appointed to thofe of the 
 greateft Diftinftion : By the middle, men- 
 
 " Ca^. 14. '* D^ Smecl. qui in prima Cave^ fpeBai^ 
 
 I tioned
 
 ^34 O/'Amphitheatr e s. 
 
 tioned by '^ Suetonius^ all the other Stepfi 
 of Stone : For the higheft fpoke of by ^y^- 
 neca^ and call'dthe laftby Cktro^ they un- 
 derftood the Steps and Lodges of the two 
 higher Stories ; if moreover, the higheft 
 Steps of Wood were not comprehended iri 
 the middle Divifion, the Lodges only re- 
 maining in the higher Parts. ' + Seneca by 
 the Word of the higheft Cavea underftood 
 thofe for the Tlebeians, In the middle 
 Seats Augujttis ordered that • none of thofe 
 who w^ore brown Gloaths ftiould ftand there, 
 that is, People of mean Condition^ however 
 '^ Calfhurnitis faid, that he prohibited 
 thofe who were meanly apparelled and. 
 poor, from coming near the Places that 
 were the moft noble, where the Emperor 
 himfelf fat : For great care was taken that 
 Order fliould be kept. ^^ Augitfttis caus'd 
 a Gregarian Soldier who had placed 
 himfelf on one of the Fourteen Steps, 
 to be removed from thence. T)omittan 
 iffued firft an exprefs Edift to keep the 
 Steps appointed for thofe of the Equeftrian 
 Order from being taken up by Tlebeians^ as 
 ' "^ Martial tells us. There were certain Of- 
 ficers called Locarii appointed for taking 
 care of the Seats, and who caus'd People to 
 remove out of the Places in which they had 
 not a Right" to fit. Some of thefe Locarii^ 
 
 ^5 Aug. c. 44., m quis Ptillatorum media cavea. 
 
 ^4 Ad [iimmnm c^nieam fpeBantia. 
 
 y Fnllac^ni faufertas, ^« StatQn. f. 14. '" L. f. Ep. 8. 
 
 - ^ whofe
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. ^35 
 
 •whofe Names were Oceanus and Letius^ 
 are famous in Martial. §luintilian men- 
 tions the Power and Extent of the Thea- 
 trical Law, by which any Perfbn thought 
 himfelf greatly injured, who was made to 
 riie out of his Place wrongfully, becaufe 
 that was a thing which concerned his Pro- 
 perty and Condition of Life. 
 
 Lipfius '^ aiferts, that the Place for the 
 Senators in the Amphitheatre, was called 
 Orchejira^ which he faid was a very fmall 
 Affair, made up only of four or five Seats. 
 '9 Bulinger interpreted that which ^^ Sue- 
 tonius writes about the Arena, as having a 
 relation to the Orchejlra, So Spanheim in 
 the Medal of Gordianus Tins., which has 
 the Reprefentation of the Amphitheatre up- 
 on it, fays, that the Emperor and Senators 
 are to be i^^^n in the Orchejlra ; and fo 
 does Hardtiin on 7 liny y and all the others : 
 but the truth is, they are very erroneous 
 therein. For to call any Part of the Am- 
 phitheatre Orchejlra^ there is no Example 
 thereof in Antiquity, and the very Word it 
 felf is repugnant to fuch a Signification ; it 
 being fo very peculiar to the Theatre, that 
 jD/<?, in order to exprefs the Amphitheatre, 
 Theatre, and Circus, *' called them by the 
 •Words, the Huntiiig Theatre, the Hyppo* 
 dromiis^ and Orchejlra^ and St. John 
 
 »^ C. 8. c^ I r. c^ 14. '9 Tie Cir. c. 35-. 
 **• AHg, c. 44. ** Xiph. in Neron, 
 
 Chryfojlomus
 
 |j(5 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Chryfojiomus *^ in like manner, in order to 
 exprefs the Circus and Theatre, called them 
 Hippodromus and Orcheftra, *' Suetonius 
 writes, that Claudius permitted the Ambaf- 
 ladors of Germany to fit in « the Orcheftra^ 
 having taken their Simplicity and Frank- 
 nefs in good part 5 for having of their own 
 accord, when they faw the Ambaffadors of 
 the Armenians and Tarthians fitting in the 
 Orchejlra^ removed from the popular Seats 
 where they had been conduded i but here 
 ic is fpoken of the Theatre. 
 
 On the contrary, where the fame Hifto- 
 rian *^ relates that Auguftus on a certain 
 Day when the Shews were exhibited, led 
 the Hoftages of the Tarthians through the 
 middle of the Areua^ and placed 'them a- 
 hove himfelf on the fecond Subfellium or 
 Bench, he does not there fpeak of the 
 Theatre , however Cafauhon had no room 
 in this Place to underftand it, by the fecond 
 Row of Seats in the Orchefira ^ nor like- 
 wife do I underftand it as being the fecond 
 Cuneus or Wedge, as Torrent itis would have 
 it, but the fecond Row, in which Augufitis 
 caufed the Tarthiaras to fit above himfelf. 
 By the 14 Subfellia or Benches *' Martial 
 fays are to be underftood the Steps for the 
 Equeftrians. 
 
 " Horn. ij-. adpo^. ant. rbJj "o^x^^^^^v'i^^pct^civ. 
 
 *5 Cap. 2y. »4 Cap. 43. mmeris die. ^^Lih. f. 28. 
 
 Some
 
 0/"Amphitheatres. 3^7 
 
 Some generally add to this Blunder ano- 
 ther, in believing that the Orcheftra of the 
 Theatres was made up of Steps. Bulinger 
 affirms, that there were four or five of them. 
 Harduin in that Place of Tliny where he 
 fpeaks of the Nets which defended the To- 
 dkim from the wild Beafts, comes next to 
 explain the Orcheftra of the Theatres, and 
 lays with Lipfms aud Bulinger y that it con- 
 lifted of four or five Steps, and that the 
 lov^'ermoft next the Todium was the moft 
 noble of any 5 for this end he quotes the Ver- 
 fes of Juvenal cited by Lipfius, in which 
 it is ftiewn, that the firft Families were 
 placed on the T odium, but the Orcheftra of 
 the Theatres was nothing elfe but that 
 Area in the middle which we now-a-days 
 call the Tlatea in Italian^ or Pit \ which 
 among the Grecians ferv'd for dancing, 
 from whence it took its Name, and the Ro- 
 mans brought their Dances on the ScenUy 
 where the Senators and Perfons of Quality 
 fat upon portable Forms or Benches. That 
 Paflage however of Juvenal is of no Im- 
 portance, when he fpeaks of the Todiumy 
 and not of the Steps 3 of the Amphitheatre, 
 not of the Theatre; and when he mentions 
 chat thofe who were moft noble flood in the 
 Todium, not in the Orcheftra, The fame 
 Author in another Place interprets it Thea- 
 tre, where Tliny^ fpeaking of Lions, calls 
 it Arena J and where ^ this laft mentioned 
 Z *^ Author;,
 
 228 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 ^f Author fpeaks of the People defended from 
 the Wild-Beafts by Palings of Iron, gives us 
 to anderftand, that thej called the Area^ 
 Cavea, 'which is in the middle of the Thea- 
 tres^ from 'whence the Teople beheld the 
 Games. Hence they called the Arena the 
 Cavea of the Amphitheatre^ becaufe Sand 
 'was ftre'wed over there. But the truth is, 
 neither in the Theatre was there need to fe- 
 cure the People from the Wild-Bealls, nor 
 did they underftand by the word Cavea the 
 Field ; nor from the Field did the People 
 behold the Games, nor did they Itrew the 
 Spe^atoritim in the Amphitheatres with Sand, 
 but only the Area, 
 
 Thefe Particulars I unwillingly enter on, 
 and only as they are neceflary for the better 
 illuftrating the Subject in hand. 
 
 But befides the above-mentioned general 
 Diftinftions, there were others more parti- 
 cular. In the time o^Augufitis., every good 
 Regulation with regard to the Amphitheatres, 
 was found in Confufion, and had been neg- 
 leded : For that Emperor, befides annulling 
 the firft Laws, =-^ ordered the Soldiers to 
 be feparated from the reft of the People, 
 and affigned them their Places ^ and certain 
 Steps alio for married People to fit on, ac- 
 cording to the ancient ufage of granting pe- 
 culiar Privileges to them in different ways. 
 However =^'' Martial jdis with 'Didimus the 
 
 5» M.l, 8. c.j6. a« Suet, f.4,4. »7 l. f. 41. 
 
 Eunuch,
 
 0/ AmPHI THE ATRES. J^O 
 
 Eunuch, who boafted that he might fit a- 
 niong Gentlemen, tho' he owned that he 
 could not among Husbands. From Tliny 
 the Younger we have an Account, that a- 
 mong j:he Honours conferred on thofe who had 
 three Children, one was to fit diftinguiflied 
 at the Shews. And Jtigufiiis ordered, that 
 the Tnetextatt^ viz. the young Men (cal- 
 led lb becaufe they wore a hemm'd Gown till 
 they arrived at the Age of Eighteen) ihould 
 fit in a diitincl Place by themielves. It was 
 very much the Guftom in ancient times, to 
 make great Diftinctions on account of Age. 
 The College of the F^bri was divided by 
 Servius TuiUus into two Centuricc^ namely, 
 one of the oldeft, the other of the youngeft 
 Men. Likevvife in the Theatre oi Athens^ the 
 Youth were placed among one another 5 as 
 may be gathered by the Scholiaft oi Arifto- 
 phanes^ and from ^^ Tollux, The fiippli- 
 cant Je\vs^ who came to Rome, were diftin- 
 guifhed into Companies of Old, and Young, 
 and Children, as we learn from ^^ Thilo. 
 The Minifters of Magiltrates had likewile 
 Places appointed them ; hence Tacitus re- 
 lates, that an Accufator had, as a Reward, 
 liberty to fit in the Theatre among the 
 Viatores of the Tribunes. We might have 
 known many other Particulars, if the Rofcian 
 Law had been prelerved, of which we have 
 
 2-S Foil. I. ^. cap.ij. lonCiKoV' 
 *9 Le^at. ad C. 
 
 Z z aireadv
 
 540 Of Amphitheatres, 
 
 already made mention. In it I learn fronT 
 CicerOy that Bankrupts, and thole who had 
 wafted away their Subftance, were confined 
 among themfeives; he '° upbraiding Marc 
 Antony-, who notwithftanding that, had pla- 
 ced himfelf on one of the fourteen Steps. 
 The forementioned Ciinei^ formed by the 
 fmall Stairs, made fo many diftindions eafy. 
 For this reafon - ' Suetonius fays, that y^//- 
 gtifius affigned over his Cuneus to the young 
 Men^ and the other ^ next to that, to their 
 pedagogues ; who being fo near them, might 
 obferve their Behaviour. 
 
 Thefe publick Edifices ferved alfo fome- 
 times for other Ufes befides the Shews. In 
 Greece^ the Councils of the Cities affembled 
 for the moft part, in the Theatres. ^^ j'^/. 
 majius was of Opinion, that the public Di- 
 ftributions were given in the Amphitheatre 9 
 and that of Money given in Martial's time, 
 feems to be confirmed by the Jeft he beftowed 
 on that Gentleman, who, after having re- 
 ceived his Portion of the Money, went for- 
 ward to the other 55 Cttnei^ in order to fcram- 
 ble for more. But Giacopo Gottofredo^ with 
 a good deal of realbn, denied that either in 
 the Theatre or Amphitheatre, the ^ 4 People 
 had the Diftribution of Bread given them, 
 
 31 Cap,^j^. TrAtextatis Ctimum fiiumy & froxlmum FAdd- 
 
 5- Ad Hijl. Aug. p. 374. 
 
 33 /,. I. 24. 3f Ad C. T/;. (h Ann. Ch. 
 
 called
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 341 
 
 called Gradile^ becaule it was befiowed on 
 the Steps. The Infcription of ^j GruteVy 
 concerning the Donative given by Claudius 
 Crejimus to the People, per Gradus^ which 
 is quoted for that purpofe by thofe two great 
 Men, is falfe, tho' we ftiail not enter upon 
 tliat Subjeft at prefent. 
 
 We have, however, another Infcription, 
 and a true one, which may bring forth 
 very much Light in this matter, either for 
 confirming what is already faid, or for pro- 
 ducing new Dilcoveries therein. Towards 
 the end of the laft Age, four Miles from 
 Rome^ fome pieces of Marble were dug up, 
 on which was mention of what regarded 
 the College of the twelve Brothers, ^'^ At- 
 vali. This was a Priefthood, ordained to 
 make Sacrifices for procuring Fertility of the 
 Fields or Country. The Inlcriptions were 
 immediately publiflied by Monfeigneur Torre^ 
 in the Monuments of ^ ^ Anx'mm. The moft 
 curious Particular in them, is the Defcriptipn 
 of the Place appointed to thefe Priefts in the 
 Amphitheatre. The Affignation, from the 
 ordinary Confuls which are mentioned in the 
 Stone, appears done in the laft Year of Tttus'^ 
 that is, the firft when the Amphitheatre was 
 made ufe of The lame has been practiled 
 with the other Ranks of People. From 
 what is contained in this Infcription we learn, 
 that a Place was given in various manners 
 
 3? Grut. 17^. 8. 3-6 p. 3S8. 
 
 Z. 3 «^
 
 542' Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 to the College Arvale^ namely, firft, to 
 the fir ji Menianus^ in the twelfth Omens ^ 
 in eight Marble Steps : Then, to the high 
 fecond Menianus^ m the fixth Cuneus^ in 
 four Marble Steps : Then, to the high 
 Menianus^ in the Boards of Woody at Num- 
 ber LIII. in eleven Steps. Ihe Space af- 
 figned in all thefe Places or Situations fummed 
 up, fhevvs that it exceeded 129 Feet and a 
 half; but as to the number of Feet diftri- 
 buted in every one of the Steps, and in the 
 noted Sums of them, there is a little Con- 
 fufion. But we may at prelent obferve, with 
 how much Exadnefs the Places were diftri- 
 buted, and that Bodies were not fet in a Line 
 on one only Step, but rather in company 
 from below upwards. So much room was 
 allotted, becaufe the dignified Perfons came 
 to the Amphitheatre with their Train of Of- 
 ficers and Servants : So we have feen already, 
 that the Tribunitian Viatores had places. 
 Meniantis fignifies a Place that is raifed or 
 flat, like a high Terrafs for walking on. 
 'Tis credible, by the firft Meniantis was 
 meant the Todmm ; tho' I don't find the 
 Brothers ^V^Wi 5 m.entionedby ^"^ Arnobiiis^ 
 among the Priefts, who came orderly and 
 with Decorum to the Shews. The other 
 Meniani are the Plains or Floorings of the 
 ^r^einfliones ; which word ieems to me to 
 imply, that they had Borderings, and v/ere 
 
 ^^ Lib, 4. 
 
 Baluftrades.
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 34^ 
 
 Baluttrades. Befides, it feemshcre, that by 
 the word Menianus^ is meant the Space be- 
 tween one Bench or Precinftion, and the other. 
 It likewile appears, that there were many 
 Cunei^ and that they became leparated, the 
 one from the other, by the Benches; and 
 that they were feven, having different Num- 
 bers upon them ; nor could they have been 
 in any other Manner, as we have fliewn in 
 Tlate IX. We likewife found, in Confir- 
 mation of what has been faid, that there 
 was an Order above the Marble Steps, and 
 that many places were floored with Boards, 
 and the faid Steps made of Wood, in eleven 
 of which were the Servants of the Col- 
 lege Arvale placed. For we cannot be-, 
 lieve what ^s Lipfius afferts, namely, that 
 the Servants or Train belonging to the Ma- 
 gillrates, flood likewife with them on the 
 Sodium. However, the Monument of An- 
 tiquity we have been defcribing, is a moft 
 valuable one, with regard to the Amphi- 
 theatre. 
 
 I have fometimes heard People won- 
 der, how Gentlemen, and People of Qua- 
 lity, could fit a whole Day upon colrf 
 Marble, without injuring their Health. The 
 truth is, in that cafe it Vv'ould have been 
 worfe for them than the Plebeians, who 
 flood aloft on Floorings of Wood; and 
 the rather, fince they beheld thofe Shews 
 
 7j 4 lik^wile
 
 144 0/^ Amphitheatre s. 
 
 likewlfe in the Winter Seafon. But 'tis fit 
 we ftiould know that abovethe MarbleSteps 
 there were Boards of Wood laid, on which 
 they fat. So much do we learn from '^^'DiOy 
 where he fays, in the times of Caligtda, Cu- 
 fliions were fet upon the Seats of the Senators, 
 that fo they might not fit on the bare Boards, 
 Father Montfaucon underftood this PaflTage 
 as if Cufhions were placed under the Feet of 
 the Senators; but methinks 'twould have 
 been bad Oeconomy to make iuch an ufe 
 of them. Thus we fee how the others lat 
 on Boards, and not on Stone ; for not having 
 known this Particular, we fee the reafon why 
 that PafTage of '^^ T)io was fo very ill trans- 
 lated, where he fpeaks of the Thunder we 
 have already Ipoke of in another place : 
 The Hiftorian fays, that by the Fire there- 
 of, all the upper Round was burned^ 
 and with it Tot gfTDs iS xwxAw €S^a(pn Travret' 
 Letmclavius being followed in this Paf- 
 fage, by the Editor of the new Supple- 
 ment to ©/V?, renders it ^' quicquid e^et in 
 fola interior is circuli \ which might be ren- 
 dered, (^ pavimenta interior a omnia 5 that 
 is, all the Flooring of the St^^ps, or the Boards 
 which were placed above the Steps. In the 
 fame PafTage alfo I would not have tranflated 
 it Arenarium^ and I would have faid, it 
 "was kindled^ rather than dejlagravit s the 
 
 40 Tom. 3. |). ij($. 41 Lib, 78. 
 
 . mv Am-'
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 34.5 
 
 Atnphitheatre itfclf having not been con- 
 fumed, but a Fire happening in it. The Cii- 
 ihjons of the Senators became in ufe likevvile 
 gmong other Gentlemen, as is hinted by a 
 Paflage in Juvenal, The Ufe of them in the 
 Theatre was not unknown to the Grecians -, 
 for Theophrajius mentions them, where he 
 fpeaks of the ^^ Flatterer. The Cuftom of 
 the Ladies fitting on the Steps of the Arena 
 oi Verona^ to fee Comedies afted there, lafted 
 till the days of our Fathers, but upon Cufhions, 
 brought thither by their Servants out of their 
 Coaches. On the Podium, however, the 
 People of Diftinction fat with a greater kind 
 of Dignity, namely, on Chairs brought there 
 on purpofe. Augiiftris fat there on a Currule 
 Chair, as we learn from ^^^ Suetonius, For 
 Tiberius and Sejanus's gilded Chair§ were 
 brought thither, as ^ 4 ©/^ tells us, the Form 
 of which is feen in many Medals : The Ma- 
 terials of it we learn from ^^ Horace^ who 
 calls it the Ivory Currule Seat, and peculiar to 
 fundry Dignities. But, perhaps, all thofe of 
 the Senatorian Order from Cufhions became to 
 have Seats in the Amphitheatre; and it would 
 feem as if there. were feveral Rows of them, 
 fince Manneitis was derided by Martial^ for 
 having placed himfelf on the firil Step, 
 as he had ufed to do, before the Edift of 
 ^Domitian v/as promulgated, by which it was 
 
 43 Cap,^^. 44 Dio. l.)-S. 4? Li^, i. ep. 6. 
 
 quite
 
 J4^ 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 quite removed, and lb went and fat in the third 
 Order of Seats ; as I ^ ^^ read that Verfe, which 
 agrees with the Account of Suetonius above- 
 mentioned,where he mentions the fecondSeat. 
 Vitruvius likewife names Steps in the Thea- 
 tre, on which Chairs were placed. ^"^ Martial 
 Ipeaks of Forms for Gentlemen \ and there 
 are other PaflTages which give ground to fu- 
 fpecl, that they made ufe of Chairs. The 
 Emperor Arcadius prohibited the ule of them 
 only to People of low Rank ; nor do I un- 
 derftand that Law ^s ^^ ^^ Cellarum, or 
 portable Chairs, as others have done. Ovid^ 
 deArte^ &c. ndim^sYikQWii^t iht SuppedaneUy 
 or Foot-ftools. Befides, they likewife have, 
 without doubt, praftifed the fame in the 
 Amphitheatres fometimes, as they did in 
 Theatres, according to the repeated Teftimony 
 of T>io 5 namely, that in order to do honour 
 to fome, they put Chairs in their Places, tho' 
 they were abfent, nay, Ibmetimes after they 
 were dead. To Germanicusy after his deceafe, 
 as ^^ Tacitus tells us, Currule Chairs were 
 placed, and above them Laurel Crowns, [as 
 we find reprefented in feveral Medals] and 
 that they were placed among thofe of the 
 Aiiguftal Priefts. Hence we may gather, that 
 the latter had the moft noble Places allotted 
 them in the Theatres and Amphitheatres. 
 
 46 "Lib. y. 14. Et inter ip/ns pene tertias fellas. 
 
 47 L.y. 42. 4® C.Th. de nju CelUrura. 49 ji?m. L'lo. 
 
 z CHAP.
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 347 
 
 CHAR XIV. 
 
 T'he Velarium. 
 
 TH E Facility of covering the Spefta- 
 tors with an Awning or Pavilion, was 
 [with regard to the vaft Height of the Am- 
 phitheatre, and the great Space it covered] 
 not one of the leaft wonderful Things about 
 the Building. This Pavilion was called Vela^ 
 or Velarium by the Latins^ and put over 
 the Building, or removed at pleafure, as need 
 required. The Shews lafted the whole Day, 
 all which time the Performers continued their 
 Combats and diverted the Speftators : Tho' 
 there were not wanting fome, who went into 
 the ^ Circus at midnight, in order to take 
 their places ; and People, when any remark- 
 able Shew was to be exhibited, flocked thi- 
 ther before Day-break. That in the Morn- 
 ing there was a kind of Prelude made of 
 Shews lefs pompous and fierce than the others 
 which were to follow the fame Day, I ga- 
 ther from the Delcription Ovid gives of the 
 Hind appointed to be flain in the early time 
 of the Morning within the u-irena ; and from 
 the mention which ^ Seneca makes, of the 
 Laughter excited in the Amphitheatre, where 
 People, early in the Morning, found the Bull 
 and the Bear tied together, and afterwards 
 both of tliem killed by the Wild-Boar. 'Tis 
 
 ' Sh. Cal. cap. 26. Lampr. in EUg. 
 
 * De Ira, llb,^, iXMQ
 
 54^ 0/AmPH I THEATRES. 
 
 true, fome went away to dine, and then retur- 
 ned back again, as may be gathered from the 
 Hiftorians,where they relate that the Emperor 
 5 Claudius was not of that number, delighting 
 greatly in the Mid-day Diverfions ; the Cruelty 
 of which, tho' mixed with an Appearance of 
 what excited Laughter,is however detelted by 
 Seneca and Tertullian. Of the Afternoon 
 Shews St. Auguftine makes mention, in his 
 4Confeflions. In the fourth Age, thofeofthe 
 Magiftrates belonging to the Judicatures, were 
 particularly prohibited by a ^ Law, from re- 
 turning to the Games after Dinner, as was 
 praftifed by the others. 
 
 The fervent Heat of the Sun made fome 
 kind of Sconce or other neceffary at the Games. 
 In the Theatres, the Spectators for feveral 
 Ages were uncovered, and this Ufage con- 
 tinued perhaps always in other Parts too 5 
 for as we learn from ^ Afulehis^ a Comedy, 
 on a certain occafion, was left off in the 
 middle from being acVed, on account of the 
 Rain which fell: And ^Si.JohnCkryfoftom re- 
 proves thePeople for having ftood bare-headed, 
 with the Sun fcorching of them, in the Thea- 
 tres. However, by one of ^ Grutef^ In- 
 fcriptions, we find that in the Theatres of 
 Itdly^ even out of Rome^ they had the Ufe 
 of Pavilions or Awnings in thole Buildings. 
 We learn likewife from Tliny and Valerius 
 Maximus^ that §luintns Catulus was the 
 
 ^ T>io. Suet. 4. I.ib,6. c.6. ? C. Th. de Specl. leg. i 
 '^ FlorU. c. 16. '' Hom.^ c.io. ^ 1099. z. 
 
 fiift
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 549 
 
 firft who invented a Shade in the Theatre, 
 and that therein he took example from the 
 Luxury and Effeminacy of the People of 
 Campania, Of a covered Theatre ^ "^Imy 
 makes mention in another Paffage, which 
 does not well agree with what precedes ; but 
 here we muft underltand it of a wooden fixed 
 Theatre only. Tliny mentions the Archited 
 thereof, Valerhis of Ofiia-y which Fabric 
 was wonderful with regard toits great Breadth. 
 I read in Thiloftratus^ that Herod the Athe- 
 nian made one covered with Cedar. That 
 an Awning was extended over the Amphi- 
 theatre of Verona^ is feen by a Piece of the 
 ufual red Marble, fomething more than two 
 Feet in breadth, and almoft fquare, found 
 in digging and ftill preferved. In it we qb- 
 ferve, above one of the Angles thereof, in 
 the Parts towards the contiguous Angle, fe- 
 veral fmall Bores made hollow by the con- 
 tinued Fridron of the Ropes: The P.e- 
 mains of fuch Stones ihevv them to have 
 been Cords not thicker than the fourth part 
 of an Inch ; fince thofe that were large, and 
 which fupported the Weight, were fixed, 
 nor did they run out in the fame way that 
 the fmall Cords did ; by which the Foldings 
 of the Velarium were made to be pulled back 
 and forward as there was occafionj at leaft 
 I imagine it fo. Lentulus Sp intra was the 
 firft that invented '° Coverings of Linncn- 
 Cloth. But '' T>io^ as a Proof of the ex- 
 ceffive Expence made by defar at the Games,
 
 550 0/AMfHltH£ATRES. 
 
 mentions that (as it was reported) he once 
 caufed the Spectators to be Ihaded from the 
 Heat of the Sun with Coverings of Silk. But 
 by the Games fpoke of by the Hiftorian, it 
 leems probable, that the Place mentioned to 
 have been covered by Cafarj in the manner 
 juft now defcribed, was his own Amphitheatre 
 of Wood ^ which, at that time, was an Ex- 
 cefs of Luxury, fince the Silk was then not 
 produced nor manufactured in that Country, 
 but brought thither from remote Parts of 
 the World. I obferve in Vopfcus^ that even 
 in the time of AareUany a Pound of pure 
 Silk-Stuff was valued at the like Weight of 
 Gold. Nero once caufed Purple Veils to be 
 Ipread over the Theatre, reprefenting the 
 Heavens, with Stars of Gold thereon, and 
 his own ' ^ Image embroidered in the middle, 
 reprefenting the Sun driving a Chariot. How- 
 ever, the Covering was commonly made of 
 Wool : This I conjedure from a PafTage of 
 TerttLlliarij where, in order to exprefs that 
 God fees even beyond the Amphitheatre, he 
 fays, Extra Cameras^ & Gradus, & Apu- 
 lias, '3 Lipjius fays, he cannot imagine 
 what thefe Aful'is were. '^ Btdinger de- 
 duced that word from the Greek^ and faid 
 Tertullian had fo named the higher Portico's. 
 But TertfdliaUy in that place, fpeaks of them 
 as the inner part of the Amphitheatre, and 
 names the Parts which filled it, viz. the 
 
 " Xiph. in Ner. 
 
 ^3 c^p.35. de Apuliis fateor m? nm pttjfe hifcere, ^c, 
 
 »4 £;//. da Th, in Troem. St CDS
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 351 
 
 Steps, Lodges, and Coverings ; and to thefe, 
 not the others, does he give the Name of 
 ApuU^ for fo muft it be read, and not 
 Afulia^ viz. P/^^/i<?/?,- which is as much as 
 to fay, Woolj rightly fo named from Vu- 
 glia, fince the Wool of that Province is more 
 famous than any where elie, as ' ^ ^Imy fays. 
 For this reafon ^^ ik/^mW affirms, that that 
 Country was ennobled not a little, by having 
 had the fineft Wool of any, as Tarma was 
 for the fecondkind, zn& Altinaiox the third 
 ibrt. So the W^oollen -Cloth > I fay, was 
 called Apul£^ from the Country Apulia ; as 
 Silk, for the fame reafon, was called Serica. 
 So much does the Poet give Apuka the Pre- 
 eminence above the other Provinces, becaufe 
 of the white Wool it produces; tho' the 
 Velarium of the Amphitheatre w^as, for the 
 moft part, of dyed Wool, varioully coloured ; 
 and this I gather from a Pafllige of ^ "^ Lti-^ 
 cretins, where he iays, that the red Iron- 
 coloured, and yellow Coverings of tlic 
 Theatre, relleded back on the Alfembly of 
 Spectators, and on the Scene, undulating the 
 whole with their Colours. So did they 
 poetically paint the Appearance of the waving 
 Motion produced by the Wind blowing on 
 the Awning. 
 
 But it is not fo eafy to know [by what 
 has been already faid concerning the Vela- 
 
 ^'f L. 8. r.48. LaridatiJJimit Apula. Apophor. 'velleribus pri' 
 mis Apulia, v, I. i. 
 
 '^ £/>. 37. '"^ L/^.4. Coguntqui fm flnitare colore.
 
 35i 0/ Amphitheatres. • 
 
 rium] the manner how the Awning, at fb 
 great a Height, could be kept Ipread ovet 
 lb ample a Circumference and Space, as that 
 of the whole Amphitheatre, and the Method 
 they had to manage it, at pleafure* We 
 learn from '^ Lampridius^ that they cau- 
 fed the Marine Soldiers to handle it, be- 
 caufe more expert than the others in mana- 
 ging the Sails of Ships ; yet as to the manner 
 how it was performed, we are ftill in the 
 dark* In the Golifeum we have obierved, 
 in treating about the exterior Circuit, that 
 there were 240 large Corbils of Stone, into 
 which an equal number of long Poles were 
 fixed, which piercing through the Cornilh, 
 flood ered, in order to fupport the J^ela^ 
 rmm : But the Difficulty confifts in knowing 
 how it was poffible to keep fuch large Ropes fo 
 very well ftretched, and extended in fo great 
 a Breadth as was the Diameter of the whole 
 Amphitheatre. As to this Particular, the 
 Roman Architefts leem to have had the only 
 good Notion \ and Font ana-, in his Drawing, 
 has v/ell reprefented how that Affair was 
 practicable, tho' .he has not exprefled the 
 manner of executing it in Words. I here 
 give you its Figure ; but you muft however 
 imagine Ibme other Particular, ftill more X,o 
 be added, becaule by not conceiving it in 
 any other Form than what is here repre- 
 fented, a fixed Covering might, I own, fome 
 way or another, have been placed upon it> 
 
 18 la Com, a Miliubns Clajpmh, but
 
 R^tii afiwr n'^tr/i M** /I*/ij ..
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 353 
 
 but it does not appear how they could draw- 
 it backward and forward at pleafure j and 
 yet we do know from Hiftory, that in the 
 gladiatory Shews '^ Caligula took fometimes 
 Delight when the Sun was moft intenfely 
 hot, to order the Covering of the Amphi- 
 theatre to be drawn back and removed of 
 a fudden ; prohibiting any one whomfoever, 
 from going away then from their Places, or 
 ftirring out of the Building. 
 
 Such a Work could not be otherwile 
 difpoied, but by forming a large oval Ring 
 of thick Ropes in the middle, by which 
 the greateft part of the Area was left unco- 
 vered ; as it was like wife neceflary for the 
 Admiffion of Air and Light, and a Method 
 not feldom ufed by the Ancients, even in their 
 other Buildings, as maybefeen vaAgrippa'^ 
 Pantheon. This Covering or Awning, was to 
 defend the Spectators from the Heat of the 
 Sun, or from any fudden Rain which might 
 fall, but not to cover the empty Space of 
 the Area. For this very reaibn, perhaps, 
 *° Calphurnius called the Field open and un- 
 covered. This Rope may have had fevera 
 Rings of Metal round it, which may have 
 lerved for having the principal Ropes fixed 
 to them, rendering the Draught fo much 
 the ftiorter, ferving inftead of Pillars or any 
 other Supporter which could be fixed in that 
 place. When it occurred to prepare Games, 
 
 'S Smt* 1. 16. *• ^£' patula JHvenis Bens dedit Arena. 
 
 A a thfe
 
 154 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 this great Circle, [fox fo I think we muft 
 call it] muft have been brought into the 
 middle, and feveral fmall Pvopes iix'd to it 
 by Hooks, which being carried ftreight up- 
 wards to the top of the Circumference, might 
 there, by means of Blocks and Pullies, be all 
 drawn up at once, and equally hoifted, by 
 drawing up the Ring all round, and then be 
 fixed fecurely. 
 
 Thele Ropes were, like the Ground upon 
 which the Awning refted, divided into dif- 
 ferent Plaits or Foldings : It may probably 
 have been interwove with other lefler Cords, 
 and thele, 'tis credible, went by the like 
 number of proportionable Rings, and have 
 been fitly diftributed round the Cable in the 
 middle, playing within thefe at the pleafure 
 of thofe who flood above the uppermoft Story, 
 and running above the Cornilh^ for all this 
 was to be performed above the covered 
 Lodges. The. Ground-work of all muft 
 have been faftned to the top of the Poles 
 on the outfide of the Building, and perhaps 
 at the foot of them too, and made to reft 
 horizontally above the Circuit of the fecond 
 Enclofure, upon Pillars of Wood j which, for 
 that end, muft have been erefted higher in 
 the fore part of the Lodges. The leflTer 
 Cords, in the fame Circuit, have refted upon 
 Pulleys, in order to make them move the 
 eafier, here only the Awning beginning. 
 Perhaps in our Amphitheatre of Verona^ they 
 
 may
 
 0/AMPHltHEATREs; ^^^ 
 
 may have caufed the Ropes thereof to have 
 been extended over pieces of Stone placed 
 above the Cornilh, in order to fiipport it the 
 better: my Conjefture about this, arifing 
 from the piece of hollowed Marble, of which 
 I have already made mention. Perhaps alio 
 they made it to pafs on the outfide, and di- 
 refted it to the Windows of the higheft 
 Order : But, to determine the very precile 
 manner how it was done, where we have 
 only our Imagination to guide us, is, I think, 
 a difficult Task. 
 
 How ftrongly the greater kind of Ropes 
 were ftretched, and how firmly fixed, may 
 be conjedured by the Method they had of 
 hoifting things up from the bottom to the 
 top of the Building. Sometimes Children 
 (as ^^ Juvenal mentions) were feen fnatc bed 
 up as high as the Velarium. And ^^ Mar- 
 //W fpeaks of a Bull lifted up from the middle 
 of the Arena, which appeared as reprefenting 
 Herades being carried up to Heaven. We 
 have certainly an account of the Machines 
 wherewith they uled to hoift up things aloft,as 
 were common on the Scenes i which, as an 
 ancient ^^ Etymologift tells us, were called 
 Cranes. But, perhaps, in the Arena, on that 
 occafion, they aifo made ufe of the principal 
 great Ropes appropriated for lupporting the 
 Velarium^ and of the larger H op or Circle, 
 as it was linked together. V : mull not 
 
 Aa 2 negled
 
 ^56 0/ Amphitheatres* 
 
 negled to mention, that in reading the Hi- 
 ftorians it appears, fometimes the Spectators 
 were left without any Velarium at all, and 
 fo expofed to the Injury of the Weather ; 
 fince *4 T>io writes, that Hats, after the 
 Thejffalian m^nncTj were, in C^/ig-^/^'s time, 
 allowed in the Theatres, in order to defend 
 the Spectators from the violent Heat of the 
 Sun.i the Ancients, otherwile, being ufed 
 to go bare-headed. And * ^ Martial tells 
 us, that a certain Perfon's Lacerna or Cloak, 
 which he wore of a black Colour, {^contrary 
 to the Faftiion of other People, who had 
 them white^ was, by a fudden Snow which 
 fell in the Amohitheatre, made white alio. 
 From the fame Author we likewife learn, 
 how that the Lacern£y which were, for 
 the moft part, fliort Cloaks, were generally 
 made ufe of in the ^^ Amphitheatres 5 but 
 that is to be underftood when the Wind 
 hindered the Velarium from being drawn 
 over the Building ; which, as we learn by 
 feveral Paflages of the Poets, did not feldom 
 happen. 
 
 •4 ub.^i). ij L.4. r/>. 2. 
 
 ^^ i. 14. 11^. Am^hitheatrdes noi commendamus adufits. 
 
 CHAP.

 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 357 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Of the fubterraneous Part of the 
 Builcli?tg, 
 
 FROM the Air on high, let us now de- 
 Icend to the lower Parts of the Earth. 
 It has been obferved by many, that the 
 Amphitheatre under ground, had Walls and 
 hollow Places belonging to it ; but as no 
 body has taken the pains to dig and exa- 
 mine it to purpofe, ftrange things, I own, 
 have therefore been faid on the Subjeft. 
 Andrea Ftdvioy Marliano, and others, have 
 afferted, that this vaft Pile was, in a great 
 meafure, fupported by the Cloacae \ tho', 
 at the fame time, Conduits never were placed 
 under high Walls. Lipjius, and many o- 
 thers, have believed that the fubterraneous 
 Cavities ferved for Repofitories or Storer 
 Houfes, and Prifons for the Wild-Beafts ; 
 without confidering how narrow it was for 
 that ufe, or that fuch kinds of Beafts could 
 not be kept in Flocks together like Sheep, 
 in order to bring any of them out at plea- 
 fure. But having dug here in every Place, 
 we have been able to make a perfed Plan 
 of the Parts under-ground, as may be feen 
 by the Draught. 
 
 Aa 5 ^
 
 35^ 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 In the Copper-plate, that round Figure 
 which appears in the middle, reprefents a 
 Well, and is exceedingly deep, in Diameter 
 fix Feet. Wells like this, and in the fame 
 Situation, may probably have been in every 
 other Amphitheatre, for what we know. 
 Baluzio, in his Hiftory of the City of Tulky 
 aiferts, he had feen there the Pvcmains of an 
 Amphitheatre, in the middle of which, he 
 fays, there was a Well, the Bottom of which 
 could .never be fathomed. But the Bottom, 
 I think, they may however hope to find, 
 if they will feek better for it. Befides, a 
 Well in that Situation might likewife indi- 
 cate, that a Theatre, or ibme other Build- 
 ing, may have been there. But laying afide 
 the fantaftical Speculations, which are heard 
 now and then concerning the Well of our 
 Amphitheatre, the Mouth of which anciently 
 was Ihut up and hid j the ufe of it is ma- 
 pifeft, becaule by its great depth, in the 
 Center of the Field or Area, which was the 
 lowef!: Situation of any, it might have con- 
 tributed not a little for draining the Water, 
 and thereby to keep the whole dry ; and 
 the rather, fince the Field was alv/ays un- 
 covered, ih that the Rain-Water which every 
 where fell on the Awning, difcharged itfelf 
 into the W^eil ; vv^hich Awning, by the Hope 
 w^hich it naturally had, was fomewhat in- 
 clined towards the inner part of the Build- 
 ing. This then v/as the Cornphivium men- 
 tioned
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 359 
 
 tioned by the Ancients, within the Arena, 
 and explain'd by ' Ifidorus^ as being that 
 Place where tke JVatcr all arcmd iz as ga- 
 thered. And, I think, that the chief Be- 
 nefit thereof, was to coiled the Water that 
 dropt or poured down on the Surface of the 
 Field, which was hi'gher than the Walls and 
 Covering of the Conduits, and v/hich was 
 neceflary to be kept dry. All the fnaded 
 part of the Drawing reprelents the Conduits 
 Situated in the middle of the three Covered 
 Ways, and alfo length and crois-ways, from 
 one Point to the other, without coming crofs 
 any Wall except that of the Podium, the 
 Foundation of which is bored in two parts 
 in the middle, under ground. None of 
 them is lefs than feven Feet deep, and thole 
 which run from one end to the other are four 
 Feet and a half broad, thole crofs- ways are 
 three Feet ten Inches, that of the middle 
 Covered Way twenty-fix Inches, and the o- 
 ther two, feme more, Ibme lefs. The Bot- 
 tom of them is laid firm and Iblid, but that 
 of the great Conduit has a Pavement of large 
 Flag-Stones. Thofe in the Eilipfis don't join 
 with the others length-ways, but only with 
 that other traverfe-ways ; thofe which crofs 
 one another near the Center, turn off from the 
 Well, which is furrounded with a Wall, and 
 then they join again. The Walls of thole 
 Conduits are built after the ufual manner of 
 
 Aa 4 the
 
 jdo 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 the Romans y with the common Strata^ at the 
 diftance of every three Feet, and with fquare 
 Stones, and three Rows one above the other, 
 particularly at the Top. Above the fquare 
 Stones there are Flags of the ufual kind of 
 Marble which covers them fully, and forms a 
 kind of Floor, no lefs than a Foot in thicknefs, 
 and fometimes even ten in breadth. In this 
 likewife we difcover the fame ufe which we 
 mentioned in the fecond Chapter, namely, 
 that the Borders of them are made fmooth, 
 but not the middle, in the Sides of the Stones 
 which ought to join one with another. Ha- 
 ving dug likewife before the other large 
 Gate there, we found the Conduit not co- 
 vered with Flag-Stones, but by a very large 
 Vault ; there being likewife two leffer Con- 
 duits on each fide, which joined with it. 
 
 The Ufe of thefe Conduits was, without 
 doubt, to receive and difcharge the Urine and 
 other Soil, and alfo Rain-Water, which fell 
 on the Amphitheatre. As to thefe things, 
 the Romans wifely took much care about 
 them in their Buildings, and therein ufed 
 great Magnificence too. In feveral places 
 there are round Holes in the Flag-Stones a- 
 bove, by which, in taking up the Stone 
 which clofed it, a Man could eafily go down 
 into it. I have likewife obierved [in the 
 low part of the Conduit crofs-ways, where 
 It pafles under the inner Enclofure] a little 
 Door, v/ith a final} Stair which came out on 
 
 the
 
 of Amphitheatres* j(5i 
 
 the third Step, where the Stone has been 
 movable. Openings are here and there found 
 likewile in the Walls of the Conduits : By 
 thefe they laid, within ihofe Receptacles, 
 feveral Channels or Spouts, which were di- 
 ftributed within the Walls, and placed along 
 the Stairs, carrying Urine and the Water 
 that drop'd thither, from the higher parts of 
 the Building. The largeft Conduits of all, 
 came out with the fame Breadth from the 
 Amphitheatre, and run, one towards the Ri- 
 ver, the other towards the Rivulet called 
 Adiges where, without doubt, they mull 
 have been emptied. About ten Paces fur- 
 ther out from the Gate, a leffer Conduit has 
 been found, which, join'd with the great 
 one, riiuft have carried the Gutter- Water of 
 feveral Streets to the Adige alfo. By our 
 knowing for certain, that in the Roman 
 Amphitheatre, when they wanted a great 
 Quantity of Water, they brought in as much 
 as ferved for reprefenting their Naval Com* 
 bats j this has made many believe, that they 
 did the like in our Amphitheatre of Verona^ 
 and that the large Conduits ferved for that 
 purpofe : But as to that, I cannot venture 
 to affirm any thing ; becaufe the Adige is 
 lower than the Level of the Field of the 
 Arena, nor have we any account of any 
 Aqueduds m^de ufe of for that purpofe at 
 aU. 
 
 Having,
 
 3<52r 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 Having, in the Drawing which I lay be- 
 fore you, given four Centers and four Cir- 
 cles by Lines dotted, this is to fhew what 
 the Form of the Oval of the Area is, and 
 confequently of the whole Amphitheatre ; 
 the Enclofures of which, correlpond with 
 fuch an inner Line. 'Tis neceifary we fhould 
 ipeak a little on this head. Every one fees 
 that after having, in this Treatife, called 
 that of the Area of our Amphitheatre an 
 EllipfiSj what is expreiTed in the Draught 
 can be no mathematical Demonftration there- 
 of; it being, on the other hand, mathemati- 
 cally repugnant, that part of the Arch of 
 a Circle can be at the fame time elliptical. 
 Nay, that the Arch of a Circle and one of 
 the EUipfis, can touch in any more than one 
 Point, unlefs it was an Arch infinitely fmall. 
 That which is fhewn in the Draught is only 
 a Hint of the fenfible Conformation, io that 
 its Title in the Plate ought to be, A me- 
 chanical Indication of the Elliptic Field, it 
 being in effed mechanically raifed. So much 
 is fufficient for the Architect, in whom a per- 
 fect Exaclnefs, and the abiirafted aMeafures 
 of geometrical Calculation are not required 5 
 the Difference in io fmall a Space, betv/cen 
 the common and mathematical Computation 
 being fo minute, that it is not obfervable in 
 Practice. So when, for Example, there is a 
 Pillar to be raifed, and placed any where, 
 lying on the Ground, and a Calculation of 
 
 its
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 36J 
 
 its Weight to be made ; by not knowing the 
 Quadrature of the Circle, we cannot there- 
 fore know it exadly ; yet the Error therein 
 will be fb fmall, as not to be of any im- 
 portance in the Operation. But in order to 
 give a more precife account of our Area^ I 
 fhall add in what manner a perfeft Ellipfis 
 is defcribed throughout its whole Circumfe- 
 rence, which is lufficiently known by the 
 bringing in of the Axis, indicated in its place ; 
 fince that which is longeft only being given, 
 the Ellipfes may be infinite in number, and 
 fo the fhort Diameter be determined, it can- 
 not be but one. That the Ellipfis is perfed, 
 I have prov'd in this manner, with the help 
 of Apollonhis^ who ftiews, that two Lines 
 proceeding from their Focus's, and brought 
 to join in any Point of the elliptical Circum- 
 ference, are always equal to the longefi: Axis. 
 I have cauled two Cords to be ftretched over 
 the Length and Breadth, reprefenting the 
 two Axes ^ then having taken another, equal 
 to the greater one, I have doubled it, and 
 made it become the half of it : Then fixing 
 one end in one of the Extremities of the 
 leflTer Axis, I have made the other end touch 
 the greater one, in the Point of their meet- 
 ing: I have marked out the Fo:tts^ which I 
 found 2 1 Feet diftant from the Vertex j then, 
 in the fame manner, the other Foctts from 
 the other part. Then undoubling the Rope, 
 having fix'd the Ends thereof in the places 
 
 of
 
 1^4 0/ Am PHI THEATRES. 
 
 of the Focus s themfelves, I extended the 
 Rope with a Pin, which divided it into 
 two Lines; this Pin I turned round, and 
 found that it fweeps the whole Round^ and 
 conies to touch the loweft Step, except in 
 that fmall Trad where the Repairings- have 
 fpoiled the Curvature. Every Amphitheatre 
 has been of an elliptic Form, and varied 
 only by the different greatnefi of the Axis • 
 fince unqueftionably the ancient, as well as 
 our modern Artificers, muft have made ufe 
 of this vulgar Method in defcribing an oval 
 Figure , by which they made it perfeft, and 
 after the Apollonian manner, tho' without 
 ever knowing that its Focus's divide the Axes 
 in fuch proportion, that the Rectangle of the 
 Segments are equal to the fourth part of the 
 Figure, that is, to the Square of the leffer 
 Semi-axis. Nor that the Square of the Half- 
 Ordinate is at the Reftangle of the Seg- 
 ments of the Axis, as the Parameter or La- 
 tus re£ium to the Axis itfelf ; and the Rect- 
 angle of the Segments is to the fame Square, 
 as the Square of the greater Axis to that of 
 the leffer. Nor do they likewife know the 
 other fine Properties and Demonltrations 
 found out fince Apollonhis^ by many excel- 
 lent Genius's, and lately illuftrated by jP. 
 Grandi, and without having heard of the 
 admirable Effeft which proceeds from this 
 Figure, in the coUeding Light and Sound; 
 or the Honour done to this Curve, by its 
 
 having
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. ^6$ 
 
 having been introduced into Heaven itfelf, 
 according to thofe, who do not find the Or- 
 bits of the Planets circular, as the Ancients 
 imagined, but elliptical. And here we think 
 proper to acquaint the Reader, that I have 
 lately caufed the Meridian Line of our City 
 to be marked out with ChifTels in feveral 
 places of our Amphitheatre, as may be feen 
 in the loweft Steps on the left Hand going 
 into the Building, and not far from the En- 
 trance. In fuch a confpicuous Plan I thought 
 proper to fix the Beginning of the Line, which 
 fliall be feen in another Volume carried out 
 here and there through all the Territory, nay 
 in one Place even to the Toy and in another, 
 near to Trent. 
 
 There remains now nothing more to be 
 faid with regard to the Defcription of the 
 Amphitheatre , the Strufture whereof hav- 
 ing been Part by Part fliewn in the beft Man- 
 ner I could. Some Obfervations may only 
 be added on the broken Parts or Fragments 
 thereof, and the Pieces of Marble found in 
 digging at different times. But while this 
 Treatifc is now printing, we may herefliew 
 Fragments of another kind, occafioned by 
 the Thunder, which having ftruck in the in- 
 ner Angle of one of the four higheft Arches, 
 has broken and loofed two large Pieces of 
 the lowermoft Stones, but not touched the 
 Vault below, nor occafion'd any Damage in 
 the under Parts of the Building ; nay, by the 
 I Nature
 
 ^66 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S. 
 
 Nature of the Stroke, and a fmall Mark 
 thereof on one of the upper Stones, it ap- 
 pears that the Direction of the Blow came 
 from below upwards, and the large Flame 
 above the lowermoft Vault, feen by thofe 
 who were in the Streets a Moment before 
 It fell, fhews, that the Thunder began there, 
 that is kindled, then fplit, its Flight turn- 
 ing more fubtile the higher it went up ; and 
 confirms my Opinion about the Generation 
 of Thunder, \vhich being loofe and unbri- 
 dled, it firfl: encreafes by degrees, having but 
 a little time fince feen a fmall Book in La- 
 tin wrote on that Subject, and publifhed two 
 Years ago in Germany by Mr. Rtchter a 
 Saxon Philoibpher, in which he not only 
 agrees in this new Opinion, but pretends to 
 account for all its apparent Extravagancies 
 in the Manner juft now mentioned. But 
 what fhall we fay, if in treating on this 
 Subjeft, I fhould add feveral new Obferva- 
 tions and Arguments no lefs convincing than 
 what I have formerly advanced; all which 
 I have been thinking on fince Mr. Richter 
 tranflated and quoted my Letter? That 
 Thunder like wile, which occafioned fo great 
 a Conflagration within the Amphitheatre in 
 the time of Macrinus^ makes us conjecture, 
 that the Thunder was engendred there, not 
 on high in the Air and Clouds. But of this 
 we ftiall treat on another Occafion, being at 
 prefent to fpeak not of the Pieces of otone 
 
 driven
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 367 
 
 driven off from the Building and fcatcered 
 here and there by the Thunder, but of the 
 very many Fragments * of foreign Marble 
 found there in digging 5 moft of which were 
 taken either out of the Well, or the Bottom 
 of the great Conduits, particularly in the Si- 
 tuation of the moft noble and riiH: frequent- 
 ed Gate. This may encourage People to 
 dig in that of Rome^ with the Hopes of 
 finding what may liifficiently compenfate 
 their Labour. The moft confiderable Frag- 
 ments found at the laft digging have been 
 fome Pieces of African Marble Pillars, the 
 Diameters of which were about a Foot and a 
 half, their Pedeftals of Marble of our Country; 
 next was the Top of a Pillar of Grecian 
 Marble, the Diameter thereof near three 
 Feet, then a Piece of a large half Pillar of 
 the "Doric k Order and fluted ; then other 
 Pieces of leffer Pieces very deeply fluted, 
 together with their Capitals, and Bafs-Re- 
 lievo's, then Part of the great Corniih, with 
 Modiiions and Dentings, with many other 
 broken Pieces of Corniihes, and other things, 
 fome of which were of Serpentine. Next 
 a fmall broken Pillar of ^^gyptian 
 Stone about two Feet high, and eight 
 Inches thick \ but of fuch a kind, as I ne- 
 ver before had l^en among ancient Re- 
 mains. By its Spots \^i of the granate kind^ 
 but not with fuch fmall Spots- 'ri'^ of a 
 reddifti Colour, but fo very pretty, that it 
 
 is
 
 j68 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E So 
 
 is not eafy to find any thing more agree- 
 able ; there are beautiful lucid Parts inter- 
 Iperfed thro' the whole, like Pieces of Agat^ 
 or rather Sfripes of Silver. Which puts me 
 in mind of the Marble which Father Ma- 
 billion lays he faw at Ravenna^ in which 
 he imagind precious Stones were indented. 
 There was a Head of Tartan Marble of a 
 good Tafte found likewife, of a Man twice 
 as big as Nature \ the Face is not of any 
 Ancient we know. Laft of all, we found 
 half ofaHorfe's Leg of Metal, and Part of 
 the Head, above the common Size of that 
 Animal, and done with an excellent Tafte. 
 
 Where the whole of thefe Pieces have 
 been placed, is not eafy to determine ; per- 
 haps they have not all belonged to the Am- 
 phitheatre, which once was itfelf a Recep- 
 tacle for Fragments and Rubbilh. There 
 are befides what is already mentioned, Pieces 
 of Pillars of African and Grecian Marble, 
 Ho very fmall, that we may fafely imagine 
 them to have belonged to the Baluftrade of 
 the T odium \ in which likewiie, at certain 
 Diftances, have others fomewhat larger of 
 Serpentine, and other choice Marble, been 
 made ufe of. Perhaps Ibme Statue or ano- 
 ther of a moderate Size may have alfo been 
 placed in the Amphitheatre, as we know 
 others were in the Circus. Tis credible, 
 the half-fluted Pillars ftood at the two in- 
 ner Doors of the Field. The Pillars of 
 
 Ajrican
 
 0/ A M P H i t H E A T R E S. ^6^ 
 
 African Marble may have been made ufe of 
 in the great outer Gate, being dug up there. 
 From Medals we learn where the Statues of 
 the Horfes in Caft-Metal flood; on them 
 they fliow a ^ttadriga above the great Gate 
 ofthe CoUfeum^ which, when placed there 
 at firft^may have alluded to the Triumph of 
 Titus. In the fame Place, exadly in the 
 Middle of the Conduit, were our two Pieces 
 found. We may fee then how our Amphi- 
 theatre has lifcewife been enriched with fuch 
 Ornaments i fo that both from this, as well 
 as from what remains here hinted at, we 
 may learn how well thole Foreigners have 
 underftood the Matter, when they fard this 
 Building was a rough and coarfe Stru£l:ure. 
 From thefe notable Remains, particularly 
 of Pillars, they feem to confirm that which I 
 hinted at in the firft Book, treating of the 
 Medals, namely, that there was a Veftibul 
 placed before the principal Gate or Entry, 
 and adorn'd with feveral Pillars, and diftin- 
 guifhed from the reft of the Building as much 
 with regard to the Materials, as the Work- 
 manlhip thereof j perhaps above it the bra- 
 zen Horfe may have been placed. In the 
 Situation of the other Gate, correfpondenc 
 with that, but few things have been found. 
 In order to give fome Conjefture. about the 
 Marble Coloflean Head, we obferve in the 
 Medals of Alexander Severus and Gordian^ 
 a Coloffus reprefented as ftanding near the 
 B b Amphi-
 
 ^70 0/ Amphitheatres* 
 
 Amphitheatre, perhaps the like may have 
 been here. But in the Medalion of Alexan- 
 der Severus^ another Statue leems to have 
 been placed under the Veftibul, and made 
 in a different Form from that which appears 
 in the Medals of Titus, The Head being 
 found in the fame Place, may make us be- 
 lieve, that fuch another may have been near 
 the Entry, and have reprefcnted the Perfon 
 who prefided over the Fabric, or who may 
 have contributed moft to the Expence of 
 building it. We muft not negleft to ob- 
 ferve, that the Fragments themfelves afford 
 nofmall Light to thofe who can confider 
 them to purpofe ^ 'tis obferv'd, by way of 
 Example, that at the Bottom of every 
 Pillar, the fmall Round which makes the 
 Border, was by the Ancients kept fomewhat 
 higher in the Body of the Pillar, fo that it 
 might not bear a great Weight upon it. For 
 want of this Caution in the Works of many 
 of our modern Artificers, who, on the other 
 hand, make the Center more hollow, we 
 often find the little Round itfelf broke, and 
 the End of the Pillar fpoiFd. Nor muft we 
 either pafs by that which I have obferved with 
 much plealure in the forementioned Remains 
 of the Statue of the Horle ; namely, that the 
 Metal thereof is very fine, of a yellow Co- 
 lour, and of a rich Compofition : Befides, the 
 Piece of the Head is all beautifully in-laid 
 length-ways with fmall Streaks and Pieces 
 
 of
 
 O/* Amphitheatres. 371 
 
 of other Metal,among which leveral Foliages, 
 or Branch-\york, are nicely indented and in- 
 teriperfed on the jStatue. Thefe Indentings 
 are of a red4iih'lpnd of Copper, which being 
 of a different Colour froin the reft of the 
 Met^l in which tBey were fet, have an ad- 
 mirable EfTed, appearing fomewhat like 
 .Embroidery ; befides, under the Ear, there 
 is a fquare Piece, which inftead of being 
 placed along the Branch work or Foliage, 
 comes crofs, and is filvev'd over, infomuch 
 that for feveral Days after it was found, it 
 was taken for folid Plate : The Beauty and 
 Perpetuity of the ancient way of gilding, 
 every body knpws. The Senator Bona- 
 rotti, * in his Trcatife on the Medalions of 
 the Mufeum of. Carpegna, has already made 
 a Calculation from a PaiTage of Tliny^ how 
 much the Gol^ Leaf of the Ancients was 
 thicker than ours at prefent, and fliewn the 
 manner ufed by them therein. Now by this 
 piece of the Statue, the Perfeftion thereof 
 is known, and the Durablenefs of their fil- 
 vering over Things feen, the modern Way 
 of performing it being indeed much inferior. 
 Moreover, by this we learn, alfo the above- 
 mentioned laborious and ingenious Method 
 the Ancients had in their ornamenting Works 
 of Metal; namely, by Indenting and In-lay- 
 ing of fuch pieces, which I believe has no 
 where eife been difcovered, fince whatever 
 hitherto has. been known this. way, has been 
 B b 2 by 
 
 p.. %ii-
 
 37^ 0/ A M P H I T H E A T R E S'. 
 
 by the frequent method they had of gilding 
 Statues; which I believe however they did 
 commonly, not by covering them entirely 
 with Gold, but only adorning fome parti- 
 cular parts thereof, which gave a greater 
 Neatnefs to the whole, and rendered it more 
 beautiful, as I know for certain, by fe- 
 veral elegant little ancient Statues of Metal 
 in my own keeping. 
 
 Laftof all, I fliall add, that whoever is 
 endow'd with a good Tafte in thofe Things, 
 and will take pleafure to examine well the 
 Nature of this Structure throughly, will be 
 forced to acknowledge that nothing more 
 perfed, more admirable could be conceived;, 
 lb as to render the whole really magnificent, 
 and a Mafier piece of Art: 'Tis enough to 
 make us conGder, if we ftiould undertake 
 without having this Edifice before our Eyes, 
 that 'tis practicable to build a Fabric, which, 
 without taking up more room than what it does, 
 might accommodate lb many thoufand Spefta- 
 tors in fuch a Way, as that nonelhould incom- 
 mode another ; and with fo many Diftinftions 
 and feparate Entries, and Convenience of en- 
 tring, and coming out in a very ftiort time, 
 withouc Confufion and Difturbance ; and with 
 fuch nice Divifions of Stairs, and Out-lets 
 on the higher Steps, and with fo muchCon- 
 venience of Places for various Ufes, without 
 hindering in the leaft their Communication 
 with one another;, or their Profped either 
 
 within
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. ^72 
 
 within nor without. And what^an Appea- 
 rance would it make, if we could at pre- 
 fent fee the higheft part of the Building and 
 the Paffages and Stairs which led up to the 
 Lodges, and above thefe to the higheft Cor- 
 nifh ? Befides, what Ihall I fay of the great 
 Circumfpeclion kept up in the whole,the Con- 
 trivance they ufe, and the different Admit 
 fion of Light within it ? How very difficult 
 the Invention was, we may learn by ob- 
 ferving how the modern Architects have fuc- 
 ceeded, when in their Drawings they have 
 endavour'd only to fupply what is wanting 
 and is deftroyed, from the great part that 
 remains. Befides, we may gather this like- 
 wiie, by feeing clearly how very little that 
 which is feen remaining of the Building has 
 been as yet underftood. Let us then give 
 the praife due to thofe Citizens of VeronUy 
 who by the Provifion they fagacioufly made 
 for its Support, their great Care therein, and 
 neceflary Reparations made from time to time, 
 have, in Ipite of ^o many Changes, preier- 
 ved this Superb Remain of ancient Skill 
 and Grandeur. At. the fame time we fer- 
 vently exhort Pofterity to continue always 
 the fame Care for its Prefervation, as thofe 
 who have liv'd before them have done. 
 Above all, a very watchful Eye muft be 
 kept in freeing it from the Damage which 
 frequently enfues, if People Ihould be per- 
 mitted to live within it» Our Community 
 B b 3 there-
 
 374 ^f Amphitheatre s. 
 
 therefore wifely rents out thofe Places which 
 otherwife would be ufelefs, and the Money 
 thereofis exceedingly well appropriated when 
 Occafion ferves, for the Support of the Arena 
 itfelf, as beins; the Produd of its own Vitals. 
 But the places Tvejuft now mentioned would, 
 I think, be always well beftowed, if rented 
 out to thole who keep Magazines of Wood or 
 Hay, or Merchandize or Stables, and fuch 
 kinds of Ufes, which don't require Families 
 to live in them \ or if any Family feould be 
 allowed to live within it, fevere Penalties 
 fhould be enaded againft thofe who fliould 
 damage its Walls, or make Holes there- 
 in ; or build new ones within it, fince 
 that would deform the whole Fabric, nor 
 even to praclife any Handicraft Work 
 that may fpoil or abufe it in any man- 
 ner whatever. Thofe indeed are for the 
 moft part the only Gotks and Vandals^ who 
 in a barbarous manner endeavour to bore 
 Holes through it, or with hard Labour to 
 break thofe Wails confecrated by the Dura- 
 tion of fo many Ages \ nor is it lefs crimi- 
 nal in thofe who in various w^ays transform 
 and dab over thofe parts of the Building 
 which afford fo much Inftruction to thofe 
 -who underftand them- aright. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 (^Amphitheatres. 375 
 
 C H A P. XVL 
 
 This Treat if e is here ended -^ by giving 
 an Account of the Theatre of Pola, 
 which till now has been taken for 
 an Amphitheatre. 
 
 NOtwithftanding at firft I intended to 
 give but a fummary Defcription 
 of our Arena^ in order to lerve for another 
 Work, yet led by the pleafure of new DiC- 
 coveries, I found my felf by little and little 
 engag d to treat fully about Amphitheatres 
 in general. Accordingly I determined to take 
 a Journey to "Tola in IJlriaj about the fa- 
 mous Amphitheatre of which City, I had re- 
 ceived very different Accounts 5 but having, 
 becaufe of the Winter Seafon, and other 
 Affairs of my own, been hindred fome 
 Months from pafling over to that Country, 
 which from Venice is no more than one hun- 
 dred French A4iles, I arrived there at 
 laft, after my Treatife was finifhed \ but 
 found my felf obliged to cancel and alter 
 that which, relying on the Faith of Books, 
 and Accounts given me thereof from others, 
 I had formerly wrote. 
 
 Tola, the laft City of Itdy^ on this fide 
 the Arfa [where Iftria runs further out in- 
 to the Adriatic'] is fo happily fituated, that 
 ' B b 4 'tis
 
 ?7^ 0/ Amphitheatres, 
 
 'tis no wonder if formerly it has been ^ 
 large and opulent Place, as the Antiquities 
 there remaining clearly evince. The Situ- 
 ation at Tola is exaftly like that of Z^ Sfe- 
 zie in the Lunigiana, .at the Top of a large 
 Inlet or Arm of the Sea, capable of con- 
 taining not only one, but even feveral Fleets. 
 This Inlet of the Sea is formed by the Con- 
 tinent on the right, and an Ifthmus on the 
 left hand, ferving as an incomparable and 
 lafe Harbour for fheltering againftany kind 
 of Wind whatever. The Mouth thereof is 
 towards the Weft, and is little more than 
 half a Mile in Breadth, and can be on either 
 iide fafely defended againft anyEnemy what- 
 ever. It is fenced from the Injury of Winds 
 by the Prom.ontory of an Ifland, or rather a 
 long Rock called Brioni ; which ftill con- 
 tinuing under Water, covers it wholly. The 
 Bottom is very good anchoring Ground, and 
 the Water deep enough to float any Man of 
 War. Galleys and large Ships lie fo very 
 near to the Shore, that in many places they 
 may lay a Plank over, and load and un- 
 load with great Eafe. The Diftancefrom 
 the Mouth of the Inlet of the Sea to the City, 
 is about one League. Within it are three 
 fmall Iflands lying athwart, in one of which 
 called St. Andrea, by placing a Fort, great 
 Ships can be eafily hindred from pafling 
 forward, which Ships in going inward have 
 only one Channel to pafs thro' betwixt it, and 
 
 another
 
 Of Amphitheatres, jy'y 
 
 another called San Tietro, Befides, there is 
 a Slip of Land, or rather a fmall Teninfula 
 which fences it anew on one fide , and more 
 inwardly, near the City, there is another 
 Ifland covered with thick Woods and Olive- 
 Trees. The Sea from one part to the other 
 widens, and goes far in on the right hand of 
 the City ; here, between it and the Arena^ 
 at a fmall Diftance from the Sea, there is a 
 plentiful Spring of excellent Water, about 
 which they have built a Semicircle of fmall 
 Steps wrought much after the ancient Man- 
 ner In the Country all around the City, 
 there are a great many rifing Grounds, of 
 which thofe they have cultivated are very fer- 
 tilCjand full of medicinal andodoriferousHerbs, 
 We find in the Epiftles of CaJJiodorus-, that 
 not only Oil and Wine, but a great Quan 
 tity of Grain in time of need was brought 
 from Iflria to Ravenna. Filh are here in 
 great plenty. In fine, the Country wants no- 
 thing but People and Trade. 
 
 The famous Remains of fumptuous Buil- 
 dings, which were the Workmanfhip of thole 
 Ages wherein Arts tiouriflied, and found no 
 where elfe in Iftrta, nor in the contiguous 
 Parts butaty^?/^, fliew for certain, that this 
 City has been the Metropolis of that Diftrift ; 
 and on account of its Spendour and Riches,we 
 may believe, that in the higher Ages it has 
 been held in the fame P^ank of Grandeur, as 
 Aquileia was in the lower, fituated in the 
 
 Country
 
 ^78 0/Amphitheatres- 
 
 Country of the Carniy and fuppofed after- 
 wards to be the leffer Venice contiguous to 
 Ifina, The Medals dug up in the Diftrid of 
 ^ola^ are almoft all of the firft Emperors. 
 The Opportunity they had of its Harbour, in- 
 cited them perhaps at firft to make it the 
 Staple-Port for Merchandize of the Eaft,which 
 afterwards was removed to Aquileia. As to 
 its Antiquity, we have an Evidence thereof 
 from the current Report that was about it 
 in the time of Mela and Strabo^ of its being 
 founded by the Colcht. That it was a fplen- 
 did City in the firft Years of the Roman Em- 
 pire, and iliperiorto the others in its Neigh- 
 bourhood, appears by a Colony having been 
 eftablifhed there, either by Cafar or Au- 
 gtiftus^ honoured and diftinguifhed befides, 
 by one of taefe Emperors with the Name of 
 ^ietas Juliay as we learn from ^ Tliny, 
 C^far probably may have made it a Colony, 
 fince Ijiria and T^almatia, together with the 
 two GaUl£^ were the Provinces allotted him j 
 fo that he furely has been at Tola^ for we 
 know he -w^ni'mto Illyrkttm to hold the ju- 
 dicial Affemblies, as Governour thereof. Not- 
 withftanding all this, the fettling a Colony 
 there may with more Probability be attri- 
 buted to Augujius^ who eftablifhed 2 8 Co- 
 lonies in different parts of Italy^ befides the 
 giving the Name of Julia to Cities, was 
 more frequently pradifed by him than by 
 
 » 'Sim, I. 5, c, 19. 
 
 I defar.
 
 of Amphitheatres. 379 
 
 Cafar. Another Reafon appears by the 
 Temple which ftill fubfifts within that City, 
 confecrated to the Goddels Roma and Au- 
 gujius, and feenis to have been built by the 
 Citizens, as a noble Memorial of their Grati- 
 tude for the Benefits they may have received 
 from Auguftus, And might we not fufped 
 that the Name Tola [which feems Latin] 
 might not have been aflumed by that City, 
 leaving their old one on account of Ibme im- 
 portant Conceffion made by, or Advantage 
 lough t from TolaS'&tx oi Agrippa^ and for 
 the famous Buildings erefted by her, as they 
 are mentioned by * 'Die ? 
 
 As to Antiquity, I know no City that can 
 boaft of having Remains fubfilHng more 
 noble, large, or lb entire as that of Tola. 
 The firft Author that I find who has fpoke of 
 it, is Teter Martir oi Anghiera, a Mtlaneze^ 
 fent to Venice in Quality of Ambaffador from 
 Ferdinand and Ifabella King and Queen of 
 Spain^ and to the Sultan of Babylon in the 
 Year 1501. This Gentleman wrote an Ac- 
 count of his own Voyage, in which he tells us, 
 that he went from Venice to Tola ; into the 
 Harbour of the latter he arrived with his Gal- 
 leys, there he obferved two ancient Thea- 
 tres^ and an Arch with Infcriptions, and many 
 Stones with various Readings on them, about 
 forty of which he tranfcribed and gave an 
 Account of. The next Author after him,\vho 
 
 has
 
 |8o 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 has fpoke of Tola^ is the moft excellent Ar- 
 chited Serlio^ who in his third Book has 
 treated of the 1 heatre. Amphitheatre, and 
 Arch there, and has given Plans, Views, and 
 the Parts thereof. Jujitis Lipfius copied 
 after him the Plan of what they believed to 
 be an Amphitheatre, and Talladio reprefent- 
 ed two ancient Temples at Tola. In the laft 
 Age, Antonio de Ville, an Engineer, who 
 built the Fort which is there at prefent, and 
 has wrote about Fortification, publiftied an 
 Account of this Place, in which he gave a 
 Draught of an Arch, a Temple, and a Sketch 
 of the Arena^ tho' in a very clumfey man- 
 ner, and very ill drawn. At prefent the 
 Arch remains entire, as does likewile the 
 forefaid Temple, and the other near it, which 
 very much refembles it, the back part there- 
 of joining clofe to it ; nor can I fay in what 
 other place are Capitals, Corniflies, and Co- 
 rinthian Freezes of fuch delicate Sculpture 
 to be found, or in fuch plenty, or fo well 
 preferved. The Prints which have been en- 
 graven thereof, ferve only to ftiew thefe 
 things entirely different from what they are. 
 Of the Infcriptions I have only found five 
 exifting, many others having been cruelly 
 deftroyed, and indeed but lately j fince 
 a certain new Building was ereded at 
 this Place, as if there had been a Scarcity of 
 Stones in that Country, 
 
 J
 
 Cy Amphitheatres. jSi^ 
 
 I heard in Venice, that fome have de-^ 
 fired the Arena of Tola might be tranfpor- 
 ted thither in the manner I mentioned, when 
 I had occaiion to fpeak of tranfporting the 
 Arch of Sufa to Turin ; but fuch a great 
 Undertaking as that of the Amphitheatre, 
 I cannot advife Ihouldbe attempted, for fe- 
 veral Reafons, tho' I fhall be bold to fay, 
 that I think it very prafticable to transport 
 the Arch there, and hkewife the beft pre- 
 fervedofthe fmall Temples; fince thofe few 
 who live there, and for the moil part are 
 Strangers, have no manner ofTafte for fuch 
 things. By this a moft ufeful School for Ar- 
 chitefture might be fet on foot, and every one 
 learn in what manner the Corinthian ought 
 really to be wrought, being fufficient to fliew 
 how much more beautiful and graceful the 
 Works of the Ancients are, and how much 
 better conduced than ibme of our modern 
 Performances, fo full of Extravagancies, or 
 rather Folly. But fince there are fome who 
 think the tranfporting fuch Buildings impof- 
 fible, I Ihall at prefent add the Manner 
 praftifed therein by the Romans in their 
 moft noble publick Buildings, as I have elle- 
 where defcrib'd, to whom it neither was un- 
 known, nor deemed imprafticable ; 1 mean, 
 to tranfport Buildings from one place to ano- 
 ther : of which Spartiamis gives an Evi- 
 dence, where he fays, that Hadrian* befides 
 
 the 
 
 k
 
 '^%l 0/ Amphitheatres- 
 
 the many Edifices he had erected ^ tranf- 
 ported tke Manjion or Temple of the Dea 
 Bona and the Coloffus, which flood on foot 
 and fufp ended. It was a wonder indeed^ 
 how they could traniport the Colojfus erec- 
 ted, and yet the very Name of the Archi- 
 tect who was called l^etrianiis is mentioned 
 by the Hiitorian. But there was no wonder 
 at ail in tranfporting the Temple, lince its 
 Walls were not made oiCotto or rough Stones, 
 but of great ones joined to one another, vyith- 
 out any kind of Cement, as thofe of the 
 Temples exaftly are, being exceedingly broad, 
 tho' not above a Foot in Thicknefs, fo that 
 they may be removed and put together again 
 v/ith very great Eafe. Cafatibon, who fure- 
 ly has never taken notice of ancient Buil- 
 dings, could not conceive the manner of tranf- 
 porting the forefaid Tem.ple ; accordingly in 
 his Notes on Spartianus he fays, that there it 
 m.uii be underftood, that anotlier new lemiple 
 was made. But it was much more difficult 
 to tranfport a very iine Picture Ihut up with- 
 in Boards from Sparta to Romey and placed 
 upon a Vvail, v/hich after the Grecian 
 Cuftoni was made of Brick, and which ac- 
 cording to 4 "J'linfs TefdmiOny was done, 
 cutting it off witliout breaking the Surface j 
 which Method of taking off Pictures from a 
 
 » JEdem bonsi h& tranftulit^ ^ Colojfum Jtantem iitque fuf- 
 fenfum. 4 Lib. gr. ctip. 14.. 
 
 Wall,
 
 0/Amphitheatres jSj 
 
 Wail, is performed at prefent in Vmke by 
 one who has often prafitifed it with fuccefs. 
 
 Above all the other Antiquities of TolUy 
 a Theatre was moft celebrated by Serlio i 
 of which, as Misibrtune would have it, fcarce 
 is there one Remain left; the above-men- 
 tioned de Ville having cruelly deftroyed che 
 Parts which were remaininp^: ra^^ing the Build- 
 ing from the Foundation, in order to make 
 life of the Stones to build his ov/n exceeding 
 Ihort Courtains, and the four Baflicns of 
 the little Fort there, which is not placed on 
 one fide of the Tower, but on a fmall Rock: 
 in the middle. So that out of thofe mag- 
 nificent Materials, nothing, according to Art, 
 has been produced on his part. And it 
 would feem, that he thought on nothing, 
 but the Pleafure of making ufe of thefe lb 
 very large and noble Pieces of Marble at 
 any rate. However, in order to palliate in 
 Ibme meafure his Brutality, in having de- 
 ftroyed fuch a fuperb Remain of ancient 
 Grandeur, he invented a Fable which never 
 before was heard in thofe parts 5 namely, 
 that there had been an Irruption of fire, 
 which, fome Years before, had blown up 
 a great part of that Building. This Strufturc 
 was fituated not far from the Walls of the 
 Town, at the Foot of a little Rifing-ground, 
 on the left-hand of the City, towards the 
 Sea, and was called Zaroj which word, in 
 the middle Ages, was corrupted from the 
 
 word
 
 ^84 0/ AMPHiTHEATRfii' 
 
 word Tneatre^ fince the Greek Theta, on 
 account of the Pronunciation at that time, 
 was chanjed into a Zeta : So that from 
 ©iTxcc they have made it Zeccas hence^ by 
 the popular way of fpeaking, they have 
 robbed it of two Letters, and made it Zaro. 
 In Latine it was wrote Zadrium and Ja- 
 dmm y this I learn from a written Record of 
 the Year 1303, inferted in a large Volume, 
 which I keep among my Manufcripts, and 
 which contains an ample Collection of fa- 
 mous Venetian Records. In that fame MS, 
 there is an account of the Jurifdidions which 
 the Patriarch o^ Aquileia held in IJiria^ 
 when mention is made of Tola • the words 
 are, Et habet ibi duo antiqua Talatia, 
 fcilicet, Jadrumy & Harenam^ & Tula- 
 tium tmum in Tlatea Civitatis^ & quaf- 
 dam alias T>omos 5 d^ quicumque accipit 
 aliquem Lapidem de di6iis Talatiis Jadri^ 
 & Haren£^ pro qiiolibet lapide quern accipit 
 folvit T>omino Tatriarcha Byzantios cen- 
 tum. This is a curious Account and Cir- 
 cumftance, fhewing, that in the very dark 
 Ages, they had even a much greater Vene- 
 ration for the Monuments of Antiquity, than 
 what we find in times when Erudition is 
 more in vogue ; there having been then the no 
 finall Penalty inflicled of a hundred Pieces 
 on any that ihould rob the Theatres of Tola 
 of fo much as one fingle Stone, in order to 
 apply it to other ufes. W^hich, indeed, has 
 
 been
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. ^Ss 
 
 been but too much pradifed every where, 
 and from which the fatal Ruin of Antiquity 
 has enfued, much more than from the Irrup- 
 tions of the BarbarianSy or Time itfelf. 
 Serlio beftows great Encomiums on the Re- 
 mains of the Theatre already mentioned, af- 
 firming, that the ingenious Architect there- 
 of had made choice of the Mount whereon 
 it was placed, for placing part of the Steps, 
 as was praftifed in building other Theatres. 
 The Orchejira was made in the level part 
 of the Area, as were the Scene and the other 
 Buildings thereunto belonging. Befides, he 
 gave us to underftand, that it was of the 
 Corinthian Order, and exceedingly rich as 
 to its Workmanfhip and Stone, with a great 
 number of Pillars and double Stairs, with 
 Ornaments of Gates and Windows, both 
 within and without. Several wrought Pieces 
 remain near the Fort, which have not been 
 made ufe of: I have obferved that of the 
 few which do remain, Ibme are of Grecian 
 Marble, whereas all the other Antiquities 
 there, are of Marble of the Country round 
 about Tola. 
 
 On the other fide of the City, at a fmall 
 Diftance, and no more than perhaps the 
 length of 200 Pearches of Ground from the 
 Sea-fide, Hands the Arena, as it was called 
 in the middle Ages. There is nothing be- 
 fides the external Circuit to be feen at pre- 
 fentj nor, indeed, could more have been 
 
 C c feea
 
 386 0/ A M P H 1 T H E A T R E S. 
 
 feen at any time, becaufe the inner^ parts 
 were of Wood ; but the Building in generaL 
 is a Miracle, for being 10 well preferyed, 
 fince throughout the whole Circuit, from top: 
 to bottom, there is nothing wanting except, 
 about two Arms length in the upper Story. 
 As the Drawing I have given thereof ftiews 
 when it was begun to be deftyoy'd by ano- 
 ther ftiaUow-brain'd Ingineer, in order like- 
 wife to make ufe of the Stones for his own 
 Schemes; but a flop was immediately put 
 to that, being a piece of Barbarity ftill the 
 more execrable, when we confider that the 
 Country abounds with nothing ib much as 
 Stone. The deftroying thefe things of An- 
 tiquity is, however, lb much contrary to 
 the Inclination of the Community, that in 
 the common Inftrudions given to the Gover- 
 nours of Tola^ the Legiflature has enjoined 
 them to preferve the Antiquities there care- 
 fully. In effed, fince thefe things have hap- 
 pened, it is not long fince, with an admira- 
 ble Care, the Government has caufed fe- 
 veral Vineyards to be removed, which, from 
 the fide of the Mount, without any inter- 
 mediate Space, had been brought as far as 
 the Pilafters of this Building. Befides what 
 has been already mentioned, the arched Roof 
 of one of the principal Gates is wanting, and 
 fome Stones of the contiguous Row of Pi^l 
 lafters of the lecond Story towards the bot- 
 tom j where, by one only Stone remaining 
 
 in
 
 CyAMfHITHEATRES. 587 
 
 in the middle, and not broader than two 
 Feet fix Inches, the whole Weight above has 
 been fince fupported i having another above 
 it, which is not imbedded, except for about 
 the breadth of eight Inches, and is ftill hang- 
 ing out of the Building about the length of 
 three Feet. Likewife there is a confiderable 
 part of that Bench [if we may call it fo] 
 which runs round the top of the Building, 
 wanting: This excepted, the whole Circuit 
 is entire ; and here only may we enjoy the 
 incredible and inexplicable fine Efieft it has 
 to the Eye ^ and as much on the outfide as 
 on the inner, we behold fuch a fumptuous 
 Circuit, with all its Apertures, and in its 
 full height, no ways prejudiced at the bot- 
 tom by any Rubbilh brought thither from 
 other places, which at Rome and Verona 
 covers a confiderable part of thefe Buildings. 
 The Beauty of its Appearance is encreafed 
 very much by the Whitenefs of the Stones, 
 and the Prefervation thereof the more ad- 
 mirable, in proportion as the whole Circuit 
 is ifolated, and not joined in the inner-fide 
 by any Wall that knits it together. But now 
 'tis time to fhew that which at firfl: will ap- 
 pear very ftrange, namely, that the Edifice 
 of Tola [notwithfl:anding it is fliut up all 
 around, and has exadly the fame number 
 of Arches with that of the Amphitheatre of 
 Verona'] is, however, no Amphitheatre at 
 
 all. 
 
 Cc a Ai
 
 388 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 At firft, when at Sea, I beheld this ma- 
 jeftick and wonderful Pile, according to that 
 Profpeft of it which I have fhewn in the Cop- 
 per-plate, Scarcely had I greedily fixed my 
 Eyes thereon, than I told thole who had 
 come in company with me, that I fufpefted 
 it to be a Theatre only. Two Motives im- 
 mediately induced me to think fo ; one, that 
 at that Diftance the Building appeared dif- 
 ferent from- the oval Figure of Amphitheatres 
 elfewhere : that PalTage of Taufanias oc- 
 curing to my Mind, which I have quoted in 
 the firft Book, namely, that Trajan built 
 a large Theatre^ circular in every part 
 thereof. The other was, that the two Turrets 
 I faw on the outfide thereof, which in no 
 ways could belong to an Amphitheatre ; at 
 the fame time I remembered, that in Ibme of 
 the Theatres in Candia^ delineated by Hono- 
 r/^ 5^///, ibme fuch like Appendages appear, 
 which he calls Counterforts; tho', by not 
 finding them entire, and by having, perhaps, 
 adapted his Plans to the common Idea 'of 
 Theatres, he places and confiders them in a 
 different rhanner. . But all doubt about this 
 was at an end, after I had fet my Foot within 
 its fuperb Enclofiire^ fince I faw one fide of 
 it built on the Declivity of a piece of ground, 
 with a Slope, the foot of which comes to 
 be compriied within it, in order and form 
 for having the Steps placed thereon. Its 
 Declivity fliews exellently well, the Griida- 
 
 tion
 
 (^Amphitheatres, ^gp 
 
 tion of thefe Steps, as the Curvature does 
 their Semicircular Form, which filled little 
 lels than half of the Space broad-ways. 
 Lower down, there ftill remains the Paflage or 
 Floor ofthc^odium^v^hich is very welldiftin- 
 guiflied by the little Rifing-ground feen there. 
 'Tis known how the Ancients, in the build- 
 ing their Theatres, made ufe of fuch an ad- 
 vantageous Situation, where-ever they could 
 have it, faving by the Slope of the Ground, 
 the Expence of having Portico's and Vaults, 
 which otherwife were necelfary for fupport- 
 ing the Steps. Befides, on the fame fide 
 where the Slope was, they faved a great part 
 of the Building of the external Circuit too. 
 However, in this, where the Front towards 
 the Sea has three Stories, nay, a little fur- 
 ther, there is a fmall Bafement of about three 
 or four Feet in Dimenfion, under the low^r 
 Pilafters on the outfide, which lerves to fup- 
 ply the Ground which turns to Hope. The 
 part towards the Mount has only two Stories, 
 as may be leen by the Draught. Beyond 
 the two principal Gates that are at the two 
 Points of the Extremities, length-ways, the 
 Mount begins to rife and the lowermoft Pi- 
 lafters to lofe themfelves, where, at the third 
 they are quite loft. They commonly believe 
 in that Country, that they appear fo by be- 
 ing hid undej-ground ; and fome, in order to 
 be fure of that, have dug, but they have found 
 that which the Continuation of the Rifing- 
 C c 3 ground
 
 ^90 Of Amphitheatres. 
 
 ground might have made plain to them, 
 namely, that, the Foundation excepted, no 
 part of the Building there is hid. The Ground 
 accordingly, in that place proceeds inwardly 
 into the Field or Area, in a femicircular 
 Form, floping ; where, in the oppofite part, 
 the three Stories are feen entire and unco- 
 vered. This is fufficient for giving us to 
 underftand for certain, that the whole Fa- 
 brick was only a Theatre. 
 
 But the Ground, from the fide oppofite to 
 the Stairs, affords a Proof no lefs certain for 
 confirming what has been faid^ becauie here 
 It rifes about three Feet j as m.uch as was fit 
 for placing a Stage for the Aftors, a plain 
 Area remaining in the middle vpry fit for 
 the Orchejira of a Theatre, tho' not fuffi- 
 cient for that of an Amphitheatre. The 
 Mark of a Wall is obfervable in feveral Places, 
 for which reafon I caufed them to dig here 
 and there, to fee if it was poffible to make 
 out the Form of the Scene ; nay, Tm cer- 
 tain, Ibme People would unqueltionably place 
 it here, and defcribe it accordingly : but, for 
 my own part, I never can be induced to 
 amule myfelf with Imagination only, or to 
 reprefent what I do not fee 5 I fliall there- 
 fore fay candidly, that from the few and 
 uncertain Foundations and Veftiges of the 
 Building difcovered by me, I was not able 
 to come at the true Form of the Scene. In* 
 afmuch therefore as I was in doubt about 
 
 this,
 
 ty Amphitseatres. J91 
 
 this, I was equally confirmed in the Opinion, 
 that the whole was a Theatre, but not an 
 Amphitheatre ; becaufe I found a piece of a 
 Wall in a ftreight Line fronting the Spefta- 
 tors, which never could have been in an Am- 
 phitheatre, nor the under Part of the Row 
 of Pilafters in that Situation, becaufe they ne- 
 ver could have ferved for fupporting circu- 
 lar Steps and Vaults, which muft have gone 
 round the whole. The Walls, however, 
 which I obferved, could ferve for nothing 
 but a Foundation, and muft have been at 
 leaft but very little raifed above ground ; 
 for it appears plain by feveral Marks, that 
 what was for the moft part built up within 
 this Fabric, was of Wood, tho' it likewife 
 feems evident that here and there it was 
 otherwife, fince from the part of the Audi- 
 tory on the Defcent of the Wall, hollowed 
 Stones are very frequently feen for receiving 
 the ends of the Beams within them, which 
 going crois, fupported the Floor of the high- 
 er Lodge : Thele Hollows or Mortifes in 
 * ^/rr«i;//^j's time, were by the Zr^^/;/^ called 
 Columbariiy and by the Greeks^ Beds for the 
 Beams i but the like is not to be feen on 
 the part where the Scene is. 
 
 Being confirmed in the Opinion that this 
 Building was a Theatre, I began to think 
 what the Ufe of the external Appendages 
 or Turrets may have been, fince they never 
 
 * VltrHv. I. 4. cat, 2. , _ 
 
 C c 4 could
 
 ^gi Of Am p h i tk^atr e s. 
 
 could have belonged to an Aln^hitheatre. 
 Serlio calls them Contraforti^ and fuppofes 
 them made in order not to leave the Wall 
 quite abandoned; but he never faw them 
 himfelf,[as I ftiall quickly make evident] and 
 accordingly did not reprefent them but only 
 by a Plan marked out with three Pilafters, 
 by which no Mortal could imagine what kind 
 of an Elevation they may have had : That 
 they were not by way of Buttrefles, is ma- 
 nifeft by their Form ; becaufe they are plac'd 
 above the Arches, and ilblated Pilafters, like 
 the reft • and becaufe they could have ferved 
 to little purpofe in io ample a Round. 
 
 Having my felf feen them entire, and pre- 
 ferved, has given me fo much Light into the 
 Matter, as I think is fufficient for knowing 
 their Ufe. You may therefore obferve in the 
 laft Plate of all at the Letter D, where the 
 inner View of them is feen, that the faid in- 
 terior Profped of them in the upper Orders 
 reprefents here and there a Houle confifting 
 of two Stories, with two Entries, and as many 
 Windows in every one of them. So that I 
 am perfuaded they belong'd to a part of the 
 comic Scene reprefenting Manfions, which 
 may, in the Dramatic Performances, have 
 been varioufly made ufe of. In effeft, there 
 was no Way on the outfide to get up to 
 thefe Rooms, nor are there any Remains of 
 Stairs on the inner fide, but rather of Stages 
 
 apd 
 ' . 3 ■
 
 Of Amphitheatres, jpj 
 
 and Floorings. That the reprefen Xm^ pri- 
 vate Buildings with Windows was part of 
 the comic Scene, ^ Vitruvius informs us. 
 
 Among the other Parts belonging to the 
 Theatre, '^ Toltux reckons the Houfe with 
 two Stories in it ; we cannot wifti for a bet- 
 ter Confirmation of what is juft now men- 
 tioned: For afterwards he fays, from it the 
 old Women and thePanders ufed to look down, 
 and peep about them. From thofe high 
 Proipefts Ibme ufe or another may have been 
 made in the tragic Scene too, and when there 
 was Occafion they may have made the 
 Spectators fee through the two Gates or 
 Apertures, which ^ Vitruvius fays were on 
 the right and left^ and ferved for thofe Per- 
 Ibnagcs introduced in the Drama, as repre- 
 fenting Foreigners, to come out on the Stage, 
 fince the middle part was filled up with the 
 Royal Gates, and the Train belonging to the 
 Court. Perhaps thofe two lateral Paflages 
 were thofe called Trapcca-y.invix Ipoke of by 
 ^Pollux, and furely not well underftood by 
 ^eratilt J v/hcn he fays they are the lame 
 with the RetrO'fcena, We likewife read in 
 Tollux^ that in the Tragedies the Houle 
 with the two Stories reprefented fometimes 
 two Parlors, or high Places like Towers, from 
 whence they could fee at a diftance ; and 
 
 * L. j-. c. 8. ¥eneftris difpojitis imitatione communmm dM- 
 foiorum. "> Vol. I. ^.cap. 19. j'vTiyiei. 
 
 ? i* S'^' 1' ^^xtra ac/ini/ira Ho/phalia.
 
 594 0/AmphitheatRes. 
 
 we read that the Gate on the right Hand 
 tby which Name I underftand the Apertures 
 of the Front] was the Habitation of thofe 
 who aded the ' lecond Part, not the fecond 
 Aft, as it is rendered in Latin, It was com- 
 mon in both the Latin and Greek Theatres 
 to reprefent the Scene, from nothing elfe but 
 one fingle Partition Wall or Front of a Building 
 with three Doors, which Terault ftiews to be 
 filled up, and almoftfliutby the painted Ma- 
 chines, and other Things which turned oA 
 Pivots, by which Form it would very ill a- 
 gree with that which -I have been conjeftu- 
 ling concerning Houfes reprefented at a di- 
 ftance in the Theatre of Tola ; but neither 
 in that manner, nor without the Point in Per- 
 Ipeftive could the Scene ever be, nor is it 
 poffible to account for every thing exaftly, 
 fince we may be perliiaded that notwithftan- 
 ding the many Drawings we have of modern 
 Mailers, of thofe parts of the Theatre which 
 ferv'd for Reprefentation ; that Affair is, how- 
 ever, ftill left very much in the dark. I 
 fliall add here, that in the Circuit of the 
 Theatre of Tola^ thefe two fmall Houfes 
 afford a very agreeable Profped, being plac'd 
 in the Situation of the Auditory 5 for the ex- 
 terior Windows correiponded to the inner 
 Doors clofed by Stone curioufly perforated 
 and made like Flower- work^ which by the 
 
 Clearnefs
 
 0/ Amphitheatres, 395 
 
 Clearneft of the Air fliining through it, de- 
 lights the Eye on either fide wonderfully. 
 
 This, if I miftakenot, is, I think, the End 
 and Defign of fuch Appendages having been 
 made to the Building; and here the Manner 
 of the Windows of the Ancients is learned, arxi 
 a Piece of the Gr^^^ Scene difcovered, never 
 delineated hitherto but in Imagination ; and 
 here we have the Intention of thole three 
 Pilafters marked out in four different Places 
 by Serlio in his Plan of the Building of 
 ^olay and by Belli in fbme of thefe in Can- 
 dia : And here above all, do we come to 
 underiland a-new that Theatres were made 
 in two different Manners, one after the com- 
 mon Method, with a fertiicircular Contour on 
 one fide, and Iquare on the other ; and ano- 
 ther, never before known, with an In- 
 clofure fhut up, and an entire Circumfe- 
 rence, after the manner of an Amphitheatre. 
 There is no Inconfiftency however in find- 
 ing a Theatre in that Form, it being of no 
 confequence that the Portico or covered Place 
 fwhich Vitruvius lays they made behind 
 the Scena as a Shelter againft any fudden 
 Rain which might happen to fall] was in a 
 ftreight Line, or in a Curve ; nay, ' ° IJidorus 
 was of opinion, that all Theatres were at 
 firft of a round Form like the Amfhithed- 
 tresy and the forefaid Retro Tortico might 
 very well have been placed from the Space 
 
 ^°Orig.l. 18. ciif. 4^. 
 
 of
 
 39^ 0/Amphitheatres. 
 
 of the thirteen Arches which are in the 
 Building at Tola between both the little 
 Houfes. At prefent we may underftand that 
 Paflage of Taufanias^ which without this 
 could never have been explained ; namely, 
 that Trajan had built a great Theatre cir-' 
 cular in every part : circular mull here be 
 underftood in a popular, not a mathematical 
 Senle. The Drawing I exhibit here, flicws 
 what this Theatre was, and gives us to un- 
 derftand that tho' of a curved Form, and fhut 
 up in every part, it was however not an 
 Amphitheatre , fo that it was even by Spar- 
 tianus called a Theatre. "Faufanias by 
 taking notice of the forelaid Particular of its 
 Roundnefs, fhews that fuch a Form was not 
 common to every Theatre ; and his faying 
 that it was a large Theatre, indicates that 
 the Theatres built in that manner > were more 
 fumptuous than the others. Belli having 
 found in Candia feveral Theatres not unlike 
 this, gives us to underftand that this was the 
 Greek manner of building them j however, 
 perhaps Hadrian may have caufed it to be 
 demoliftied, becaufe therein he did not care 
 to deviate from the Roman Guftom. For 
 which Reafon this of "Tola may have been 
 built after the Greek manner, as not being 
 remote from the Country of Greece^ as indeed 
 the Manner feeh in all the other pieces of 
 Antiquity in that Place, feem to indicate that 
 they were made by Grecian Architeds.- 
 
 Great
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. J97 
 
 Great Objedions may be made by many 
 againft all I have faid on this Head, fince they 
 find that SerliOy who treats about this Build- 
 ing, has in his whole Plan thereof, repre- 
 fented it as an Amphitheatre; but I may 
 very well fay, that wretched Antiquity al- 
 ways has had this Misfortune attending it, 
 namely, that the reprefenting to Readers the 
 Dreams and Imaginations of Authors as Truth 
 and Fad, have never been efteemed by the 
 World to be Cheats and Inipoflures. On the 
 other hand, in ' Montfaucori^ Book ofjin^ 
 tiquitiesj 'tis faid, that the Fabric of Tola 
 Tiad but fix Steps within it, but larger than 
 in other fuch Buildings; which ridiculous 
 Thought [whether underftood of a Theatre 
 or Amphitheatre] makes me at a lols to 
 imagine where he pick'd it up. SerliOy I 
 own, was in general very faithful in his Ac- 
 counts of things, tho' I muft lay he went out 
 of the way, and was mifled in what he 
 related about Tola ; for he never was there 
 himfelf, but probably fent ibme young Man 
 or other of his Acquaintance to furvey them, 
 who has furely ferved him very ill in that 
 matter. That he neyer was there himfelf, I 
 argue, in the firft place, from his own Draw- 
 ings, and from his having faid, that the 
 Arena was fituated in the middle of the 
 City^ fince it certainly is at a good diftance 
 from it; and when he aflerts that the Cor- 
 niflies are better nnderjtoody and of a finer 
 
 9 Tom. 3.^ 233. ^J^^^ft^
 
 19^ 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Ta(le than in the Amphitheatre of Rome* 
 So being himfelf perfuaded into the Belief 
 by the entire Circumference of the Building, 
 that it was an Amphitheatre, he figured out, 
 on the inner fide of the Building, Parts in imi- 
 tation of thofe within the Amphitheatre of 
 Verona^ tho' of all this there is not the leaft 
 Mark remaining. Others likewife may per- 
 haps with very great difficulty be induced 
 to believe it to have been a Theatre, for ha- 
 ving heard that there was another Theatre 
 at '^ola* But ia the firft place, we learn 
 from the written "X^yXoi Honor to Belli ^\hzx, 
 there were not few Cities which had more 
 Theatres than one within them. And ^dlyy 
 fince I myfelf have feen it, I have with no 
 fmall Probability been able to difcover. that 
 the other Building' in Tola [tho* delcribed 
 as a Theatre, and accordingly delineated as 
 liich by SerliOj and called fo in the dark 
 Ages, when fuch Names were given at ran- 
 dom3 was in effeft no Theatre at all, but a 
 magnificent Palace. And as the Remem- 
 brance of a Palace there is ftill preferved in 
 that Country, and as fuch it appeared to de 
 Ville i neither do the Remains thereof which 
 I found, indicate it to have been a Theatre. 
 It was placed under a rifing Ground, but 
 the lower part cut and levelled in two places, 
 and has never been confidered as a Theatre. 
 The four large Pillars of Grecian Marble 
 which are feen on the fide of the great Altar 
 3 ia
 
 m^
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. J99 
 
 in the Church delU Salute^ and tranfported 
 there from the forementioned Building, I can- 
 not conceive where they could have had a 
 proper place in a Theatre. The Queftion 
 may be asked of me, that allowing fuch to 
 have been the ufe of thefc two Turrets that 
 are defcribed towards the Scena ; for what 
 purpofe could the other two over againft 
 thole already defcribed have been made? 
 But it is well known on one hand, that be- 
 caufe of the Beauty of Agreement in Fabrics, 
 feveral things are often made which ferve 
 for Appearance only ; and it is evident on the 
 other hand, that of thefe fmall Rooms which 
 joined with the higher Lodges, various ufts 
 may have been made for the Convenience of 
 the Spectators. It is likewiie oblervable, 
 that thofe on the other fide are not complete, 
 but want the Floor in the middle. 
 
 In order therefore to give Ibme precile Ac- 
 count of this io very noble an Enclofure, we 
 think fit to acquaint the Reader, that the great- 
 eft length thereof, from one Gate to the other, 
 is 370 Venetian Feet, its Breadth 300, the 
 total Circuit amounts to mo. The Vene- 
 tian Foot is fomething more than the eighth 
 part of an Inch larger than that of Verona. 
 The Height of the Building on the fide to- 
 wards the Sea, is eighty fix Feet, inclu- 
 ding the fix allowed for the Bafement at 
 the foot, and about other five for the 
 Bench or Out-jutting, which is above the 
 
 higheft
 
 400 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 higheft Ridge of the Building. The number 
 of the Arches round the whole Fabric are 
 72, the fame as that oi Verona \ tho' for all 
 that, the Bulk of it is not the fame, the 
 Breadth of the Pilafters and Apertures being 
 lefs in that of Tola, The Difpofitidn of 
 them are thus : The great Gate at the End 
 of the Oval has nine Arches on each fide, 
 hence two on each hand are doubled on the 
 Out-fide, and lupport the two Towers or 
 Houles j nexjt follow 1 3 Arches in the two 
 middle parts of the Building broadways, then 
 other two with the Turrets, then other nine 
 on each fide, and the Gate correfponding. 
 The Work is ruftic made with Knobs or 
 Protuberances, by fbme called Sbozzi^ with- 
 out being fmoothed, or of a regular Bignels 
 one with another, in the Meafures of the dif- 
 ferent pieces, exaftly like thofe of Verondy 
 tho' the Whitenefs of the Stone, [the Quarry 
 out of which they were taken, I wasdirefted 
 to fee three Miles diftant from the Place] 
 caufed the Building at Tola to appear much 
 more beautiful and genteel than the Veronefe 
 Amphitheatre. As tothe Order of the Ar- 
 chitedure, fbme would call it "Doric, others 
 Ttifcan ; the ruftic Work would incline us 
 to believe it fuch ; but of this we fliall Ipeak 
 very foon : However, below, the Parts are ar- 
 bitrary ; and above, fo very different and 
 plain, that no Order can pofitively be deter- 
 mined therein. Some Architefts have in a 
 
 certain
 
 O/'Amphitheatres. 4or 
 
 c ertain manner in their Books on that Art, 
 have introduced an Order different from thofe 
 which are common, calling the Buildings 
 which are covered with fuch Protuberances 
 as are above mentioned, the ruftic Order : 
 This Inclofure confirms fuch an Opini- 
 on, Ihewing indeed a Manner very different 
 from that of the other clallick Orders. There 
 has been no Cement or Mortar made ufe of 
 in this Building, but the Stones bound to- 
 gether with their common Links of Iron 
 leaded, which for the moft part, both with- 
 in, and on the Out-fide of the Building, have 
 been taken away and carried off: So that 
 throughout the whole, the common Holes 
 feen in other fuch Buildings are perceived. In 
 Plate XV. A. fliews the Perfpedive View of 
 the Building, B. the External of the Turrets, 
 C. the Internal, and their Sides, as likewife 
 the Profile of the Wall of the Inclofure, 
 with its Ridge ; D, fliews the Archicedtonic 
 Parts of the firft Story, E. the fecond, F. the 
 third, and what is at the Top. 
 
 The lower Pilafters are fquare, and little 
 lefs than five Feet in Thicknefs. The A- 
 pertures for the Admiffion of Light, are about 
 the Dimenfion of lo Feet each ; or if you 
 will from nine Feet fix, to ten Feet fix, be- 
 caufe they vary confiderably as they do in all 
 the like kind of Buildings. The two largeft 
 Gates have the Arches fomewhat higher than 
 the others ; their Apertures are about 1 5 Feet. 
 D d Their
 
 401 0/A MPHITHE ATRES. 
 
 Their arched Roofs have iikewife the Stones 
 fmoothedjand the three in the middle on the in- 
 ner-fide project half a Feet. The Height of the 
 Pilafters from the Floor to their Capitals, or 
 if you will, to-the Impoil, is about ten Feet fix 
 Inches. The Impoft is one Foot fix Inches 
 high, and was ten Inches of Projedion. There 
 are no Numbers carved on the Arches as were 
 neceffary in Amphitheatres, and as are feen 
 in thofe of Verona and Rome. On the fide 
 towards the Sea,the Pedeftal orUnder-Pilafter, 
 which, with excellent Contrivance and Skill 
 has been placed at the foot of the Building, in 
 order to fupply the Sinking which the Ground 
 makes in the Declivity, rifes in all five Feet 
 fix Inches, having above it a large Bafement, 
 upon which there is the Pilafter i which 
 Bafement on the outfide, has a Cornifli with 
 its Members, reprefencing the Capital of 
 the Pilafter below, on the Inner- fide that 
 Space is filled up by the Ground which there 
 is higher than the reft. 
 
 The Arch, from the Pavement to the Key- 
 Stone, is 17 Feet 4, the arched Vault or 
 Roof is 2 P'eet 2 Inches ; the rough Fafciay 
 which fupply the Architrave and Freeze, 
 are each of them Ibmething lels than 2 
 Feet : The Cornifh is little more than two 
 Feet, and projects about one and a half. 
 In the middle of the Pilafter is the 
 plain Pillar which fences the Impoft, and 
 with its Capital riles 1 Foot 5 3 and on the 
 
 outfide
 
 O/'AmPHI THEATRES. 4O3 
 
 outfide 6 Inches, in order to fiipport the Ar- 
 chitrave. But we muft remark, that the 
 Impoft^ is ib deeply cut, becaufe of its great 
 Projedion, that it is fomewhat difagreeable to 
 the Eye; which Particular we don't oblerve- 
 in that of Verona. 
 
 In the fecond Story the Pilaftersare 4 Feet 
 4 thick, the Height of the Arch 19 and 
 2 'Inches; from which, by confidering its 
 Conformity with the lower Story, we may 
 judge what the other Meafures have been. 
 The Cornilh, that is, the Impofl inter- 
 feded here by the plain Pillar, projcds fur- 
 ther than it about leven Inches, and more than 
 the Roof of the higher Arch, nine Inches. 
 ^ In the third Story, inftead of Arches, the 
 like number of Windows go round, each of 
 them 5 Feet 8 Inches broad, and 7 Feet 8 high; 
 from the Cornifh below to the Window 4 Feet, 
 and from the Window upward near to i&\^n. 
 But this part feems to be of a new Contri- 
 vance, becaule firft, there is a Row of Stones 
 which ferve for a Traverfe above the Win- 
 dows ; then there is a fmall and lov/ Cor- 
 nifli, which appears out of all order and ufe; 
 then two high and rough Fafcia s "cxt, a 
 Ridge, which is in place of a great Cornifh, 
 infomuch, that whereas commonly the Or- 
 nament encreales by rifing, here it diminifhes, 
 fince the Cornifh of the lower Story has nine 
 Members, among which, almoft in the mid- 
 dle, there is a Liftel, or flat Stone, by w^ay of 
 a Selyidge^ with a Water-Spout which feems 
 Dd 2 to
 
 404 of Amphitheatres. 
 
 to divide it into two parts, being above three 
 Inches high. The Cornifh of the fecond 
 Story has four Members only, being filled 
 up with a Gttfcio^ little lels than the half in 
 Dimenfion ; but at the top there is indeed 
 no Cornifh, but only a Ridge, the Projeftion 
 of which is fomewhat hid by the Degrada- 
 tion which the Wall has in the third Story. 
 This Ridge, hollowed above like a Channel, 
 has below it a Lift, fcarcely feen, then a 
 Convexity for about a Foot and a half j 
 next, a Border, about half a Foot in Di- 
 menfion, which at regular Diftances has Iquare 
 Holes within it, for difcharging the Water, 
 and in them there have been Pipes for throw- 
 ing it off at a diftance. Befides, on the in- 
 ner fide, it comes out a Foot further than 
 the Wall, to make the Appearance the 
 more agreeable, and likewife to ferve as 
 a Counterballance. The Pofition and Man- 
 ner with which the higher part is built, fliew 
 how very properly the Ancients term'd it 
 Corona^ and it looks fomething like as if 
 the Building was crowned at the top ; which 
 makes ' Vitruvius the better underftood, 
 where he fays, that at the top of the Walls, 
 under the Tiles, the Troje£iures of the CO'^ 
 ronae ivere placed^ in order to keep off the 
 Water. 
 
 But what Water muft this have been? 
 That, furely, which fell upon the Roof of 
 
 I Lib. 2. f, 8. 
 
 the
 
 CyAMPHITHEATRES. 4O5 
 
 the Lodges, which were placed on the Top 
 of the Auditorium^ and above the Roof of the 
 higher Portico on the other fide. How fuch 
 Water was caft forth in the Amphitheatre, 
 and what Courfe they made it take, none 
 have confidered ; and we can give but an im- 
 perfect account thereof, fince neither here nor 
 at Rome^ has the very top part of all been 
 entirely preferved. It is credible however, that 
 it was by Pipes enclofed within the Partition- 
 Walls, which may have led into the Con- 
 duits. For fome pieces of Pipes of Metal 
 have been found at Veroria, 
 
 The finifhing part of the Building oiTola^ ■ 
 at the top, differs from that of any other 
 Fabric whatever, fince above the Hollow 
 of the Ridge, in a perpendicular Line with 
 the lowermoft Pilafters, certain fmall Pede- 
 ftals rife, about two Feet in Dimenfion^ 
 above which, a fmall Bench runs round, as 
 may be feen in the Drawing; or, if you 
 will, a Lift, narrower than the Wall. The 
 Stones of this are feen in two places hol- 
 lowed Iquare, as if they were Conduits for 
 Water; and for Ibme Arms-length on one 
 place you fee, that above it, another has run 
 which covered that one below. By oblerving 
 this, I remembered that Theatrical Water 
 mentioned by * Symmachus^ of which none 
 could ever find out the meaning. Perhaps 
 fometimes they made the Refemblance of 
 
 Dd 3 Foun-
 
 4c6 0/Amphithe at res! 
 
 Fountains or other Curiofities, by which it 
 was neceffary to have Water which fiiould 
 defcend from above. The Hollows which are 
 leen betwixt the Windows, ferved for Beams 
 let on End, made to reft within the like num- 
 ber of Dyes of Stone, about a Foot and four 
 Inches fquare. Thefe reft on the Cornifti be- 
 low, exactly like what we have already de- 
 feribed at Verona^ and remain eight Inches 
 further within it : but their fquare Hole is 
 larger, and near the Wall, correfpondent 
 with the Hollow thereof, and not in the 
 mJddle, and ifolated like ours of the third 
 .Story, which ferved for another ufe. The 
 Beams then cut the little Cornifti above the 
 Windows^ hence they pierced the upper one, 
 or, if you will, the Ridge, and ferved for 
 the Velarium. 
 
 On the iniide, the v/hole Wall is fmooth, 
 without Corniftics, as being covered by the 
 boarded Flooring; unlefs it was by the Im- 
 pofts of ih^ Arches in the Ground-plot, which 
 proceed like wife in the inftde. Thofe of the 
 fecond are not found SniGied any where, but 
 ^bovethe Angles, the reft being left rough 
 and unpoliiTied. The PvCtiring of the Vv ail, 
 which is vifible in its going up, is both towards 
 the inner -fide and the out-fide too ; inib- 
 much, that it proceeds by a Degradation above 
 that Stone which forms the Architrave on 
 the outfide, and more largely in the De- 
 gradation
 
 Of Amphitheatres. 407 
 
 gradation df the fecond Story • fo that the 
 third is reduced to a fniall Thicknefs. At 
 the Top, the Holes already mentioned, as 
 having the Corona or Crown on the Exter- 
 nal, has it likevvife on the infide, bat with- 
 out Projection 5 and it leems to have been 
 appropriated for having Wood put into it. 
 The internal part was certainly, of Wood, 
 there being no Marks of Vaults on the De- 
 gradation of the Wall, in v/hich they may 
 have been inlaid orimpofied ; nor in any other 
 place, of Walls which joined them. ISever- 
 theleis, at the Points of the Steps, and in 
 fome other places, there have been pieces of a 
 Wall, or Pilafters ifolated, in which the Beams 
 muft have been fecured and laid. 
 
 There remains nothing but the Appen- 
 dages of the inner -Furniture, of which we 
 have already treated fufficicntly. 
 
 The External part of them is that which is 
 feen at the Letter B. and their Side is that at C. 
 their Prominence is about ten Feet in Di- 
 merifion. Between the one and the other of 
 the double Pillars, there is an empty Space 
 for about five Feet inDimenfion, which forms 
 Entries, and on the fide of the higher Stories 
 there are two Windov/s. In the middle Story, 
 the Voids are Ihut up by a Partition- Vv^ali, 
 even to the Impoils; on a level with that, 
 there is a fmall Cornifn. The two Half-moons 
 are clofed by Grates of white Stone, like 
 little triangular Beams, which admit Air and 
 Dd 4 Light.
 
 4o8 0/ Amphitheatres. 
 
 Light. In the upper Story there are four Win- 
 dows, with Branches or Grates of Stone, bored 
 artificially with a different kind of Work 
 in thofe of the middle, from the other two. 
 I ordered them to dig very deep before 
 the great Gate towards the City, but 
 found no Remains of any Veftibul there, 
 nor of any other Ornament that may have 
 been there , nor any broken pieces of Pillars 
 or Marble : So neither found we any Well 
 like that at Verona ; nor, indeed, was there 
 need of any, lince, by the Slope towards 
 the Sea, it was very eafy to carry off the 
 Water. However, about two Feet from, 
 and over-againft the Auditorium, in a ftrait 
 Line, we found a Conduit under-ground, 
 v/ithin which a Man can Hand up ereft. It 
 is in fome places covered with a Vault, in 
 others with large Flags, but the lateral 
 Walls have not the Strata of fquare Stones, 
 nor the fine Order or Magnificence as is in 
 that of Verona ; nor has it the Cement lb 
 very much hardned, nor mixed with Peebles, 
 but brittle, like our modern Walls. Near 
 this Conduit I found tvvo others, leffer in Size, 
 which go Itraight towards the Sea,^which car- 
 ried off the Rain- Water, the Dirt and other 
 Soil, gathered within the Theatre. I would 
 willingly have mencioncd likewife the Re- 
 mains believed to be of two Amphitheatres, 
 feen in Sic'ily^^ if the diftinct Information and 
 Drawings of them [which fome People there, 
 3 in
 
 0/ Amphitheatres. 409 
 
 in a very genteel manner, have procured for 
 me] bad been come to my hands. I, bow- 
 ever, read in xht Hifi or ical Memoirs of the 
 Abbot Carufoy [who very civilly lent me 
 them when they were publilhed by him] that 
 of the Amphitheatre pretended to be at Syra- 
 cufe^ very few Remains are fubjijiingy 
 which is as much as to lay, they are obfcure 
 and uncertain. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 (410 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CArdinal Albani has been often pleafed 
 to beftow Favours upon me, but more 
 particularly at prefent, in fending a perfect 
 Drawing of his moft noble and rare Me- 
 dalion delineated by his own Direction ; it 
 confifts of two different kinds of Metals, 
 is exceedingly well preferved^ and the 
 fame I mentioned in the fifth Chapter of 
 Book the firft 5 and tho' I had finifhed the 
 printing this Treatiie when it came to my 
 Hands, yet I was unwilling to neglect com- 
 municating an Account of it to the Repub- 
 lick of the Learned, but to give it a place 
 in this Part of my Book, and in the beil 
 manner I could. 
 
 That
 
 APPENDIX 411 
 
 That Figure which is feen among the Spec- 
 tators is very remarkable, and feems to de- 
 note the Emperor in a. fitting Pofture. That 
 a Shadow as it were of this, appears alio in 
 
 •a like Medalion of the great Duke [repre- 
 fented in the firft Plate annexed to this Trea- 
 tile, tho' not exprels'd in my Drawing of it] 
 I learn from Spanheim, who was in the right 
 w^hen he faid that one of the Beaftsreprefented 
 thereon,was an Elephant,andit is indeed much 
 better feen in this Medalion than in any other 
 whatever ; tho' we cannot perceive, as he al^ 
 ferted, that the Senators are in the Orchejtra^ 
 of which we made mention already in its 
 proper Place. The Coiojfus which ftands 
 on one fide of the Building, has Rays around 
 the Head, which feem to denote A folio j 
 but it gives us no room to believe it the Co- 
 lojfus of Nero changed into an Apollo by 
 Vefpajian, fince Commodus had taken off the 
 Head from it, and in its place put on his 
 own. I oblerve here in a particular manner, 
 that no Statues are feen around the Building, 
 whichconfirms what Ihave already mentioned 
 on that Particular ^ inftead of them it would 
 feem as if other Pillars were reprefented in the 
 middle, and as if the View of the Build- 
 ing had been taken fide- ways, reprefenting 
 
 * at the fame time thofe of the fecond Rows 
 
 of Arches, thp' the inner-fide of the Fabric 
 
 is Ihewn in Front. But with regard to Per- 
 
 fpedive in thofe tim,es, any thing may be 
 
 3 imagined.
 
 411 APPENDIX 
 
 imagined, and of which no certain Judgment 
 can be made. In that Medalion of Florence 
 with Statues on it,which was fent mc^Spankeim 
 xeprefents nothing at all of that kind in it, but 
 makes the Voids of theArches quite empty ; nei- 
 ther in it is the Emperor ftiewn with a Shield ; 
 hence we cannot then perceive how he can be 
 reprefented marching on Horfeback, with a 
 Vidory before him, having a Laurel Crown 
 in her hand, and a Soldier following behind. 
 
 In another Medalion which I have feen of 
 the fame GordiaUj fuch Figures ferve for the 
 Reverfe ; and it appears that from it this Re- 
 prefentation was taken, in order afterwards 
 to be figured out on the Shield of Trobus. 
 
 N. B. The Author of this Tranflation 
 thinks proper to acquaint the Reader, that in 
 the original Italiariy feveral Paffages [rela- 
 ting to the Subjeft treated of in general] were 
 added by the Marquis Maffei by way of 
 Appendix at the end of his Book, and Re- 
 ference made to particular Pages of the laid 
 Treatife where they were to be inferted ; 
 moft of which are in this Tranflation put in- 
 to the Body of the Book, and added to the 
 Text. 
 
 INDEX.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 AMphitheatres, the true Motive for erefting 
 them. 3 
 
 , Their original Name was 7%eatrum Venato^ 
 rium, ibid. 
 
 Their Original in Rome, 23 
 
 Of Verona^ probably built in the Times near 
 the Reigns of 7/>«y. 155 
 
 Moft likely in the Reigns of Domitian and 
 Nerva, 15:4 
 
 That it was ere(aed probably at the Expence 
 of the People of Verona themfelves. I5$,I5<S 
 Of Verona^ receiv'd great Damage in the 
 fixth Age, by the new Wall they then built 
 to that City, in the Reign of Theodoric. 174 
 Several of them, by whom publifhed and de- 
 fer ibed. ipp 
 The Cuts about them in this Book, by whom 
 
 delineated and engraven. 
 A great Difference in the Building between 
 that of Rome and that of Verona^ with re- 
 gard to the outer Walls. 216 
 Lipjitism\{iakcs the true Reafon for the Ground 
 ^ about them being fo much raifed. 219 
 A Defcription of the inner Enclofure, and other 
 inward Parts of the Building. 285,287,288 
 The Plan or Ground-plot thereof explained. 
 
 28p 
 
 The
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Amphitheatre, the fecond Story thereof, and its 
 Plan, explained. 291^291 
 
 Atnphitheatrical Games were quite left off in the 
 
 fixth Century. 71 
 
 Games, to whom confecrated. 253 
 
 Antcnintis Pius, the firft who repaired the Am- 
 phitheatre. 42 
 
 Alexander Sever us rt^^irtd feveral ancient Fa- 
 brics. 43 
 
 Alexandria in Egypt, no Amphitheatres there. 
 
 Afia, no Amphitheatres there. ^4,85 
 
 Aquileia, no Amphitheatre there. 102 
 
 ^r^«« and Cavea, thefe Words promifcuoufly 
 
 ufedfor Theatre and Amphitheatre. 113 
 Of Verona, no Lime, Mortar or Cement made 
 
 life of in that Building* 213 
 
 The inner Paffages thereof defcribed. 247 
 
 Archivolti, Volti, Valuta, their Signification. 178 
 
 Arches in the Amphitheatres of Rome and Verona, 
 
 their Number. 217 
 
 Thofe of A'??«^j, Capua, &c. how many. 218 
 
 Architraves^ the manner they are kept from 
 
 breaking. 307 
 
 Apuleius, his Accounts about the Amphitheatre 
 
 not to be relied on. 318 
 
 Beftiarii diftinguiflied from the Gladiators. 58 
 Bergamo and Brefcia had no Amphitheatres in 
 them. 103 
 
 Bo'oks, the wrong Notion People have abcmc 
 them when they only feek for thofe that are 
 bulky, and make a pompous Figure to the 
 Eye. 1^2 
 
 Benches
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pag, 
 
 Benches, or Precinftions, in the Amphitheatre, in 
 what manner they were difpoled. 275,277 
 
 Circus, within it were performed the Races of the 
 i5/^^ and Quadriga. 15 
 
 Maximus, a Defcription thereof. ihid. 
 
 A Ditch dug round it, in the infide, by the 
 Order of Cafar. i5 
 
 Cams Curio Maximus, the two Theatres of Wood 
 made by him. 17 
 
 A Defcription thereof i7>i8 
 
 Caligula began an Amphitheatre, but never fi- 
 nifhed it. 27 
 
 Claudius, the gladiatory Games exhibited by him 
 in the Septa, ibid, 
 
 Colifeum, the Name given to Vefpajians Amphi- 
 theatre at Rome^ not on account of a Co- 
 lojfus oi Nero there* 35 
 
 The Meafures of that Amphitheatre. 202,205 
 The Orders of Architedlure in that Building. 
 
 204,205 
 Of the vaft Number of Spedlators it contained. 
 
 Ciampinty Monfigneur, the Scone mentioned to be 
 in his Colledlions about Theodoric's repairing 
 the Colifeum, fabulous. 45 
 
 Conftantinus, Emperor, the firft Laws enadted 
 againft bloody Games began in his Time, 
 Anno Dom. 325. 67 
 
 Criminals piiniihed in the Amphitheatres. 70 
 
 Colonies of the Romans, no Amphitheatres built 
 in them. 75»74 
 
 Capua, but three Infciiptions remaining there, 
 relating to the Amphitheatre. 105 
 
 Capua,
 
 I ND E X 
 
 Pag* 
 
 Capua, the Amphitheatre there, by whom pro- 
 bably built. 145,145,147 
 Some Defefts in the Drawing of the Amphi- 
 theatre there. 31* 
 
 Cremona and Bologna, the Amphitheatres there 
 were only of Wood. 109 
 
 Cafar, the Hunting-Games given by him. 14 
 
 Conftantimple, Shews exhibited there, not in Am- 
 phitheatres, i^i 
 
 Circle and Semicircle, Names given to the Am- 
 phitheatre. 177 
 
 CuMe, Quhile, Cuialis, Covoli, their Signification. 
 
 178 
 
 Calphurnius, his Defcription of the Fences made 
 againft the Wild-Beafts from injuring the 
 Speftators in the Amphitheatre. 268,25p 
 
 Cmei or Wedges of the Amphitheatre, in what 
 manner they were laid out. 281,28^ 
 
 Drufus, his Huntings given in the Circus. 2$ 
 Domitian probably finiihed the Fabric of the Am- 
 phitheatre at Rome. 41 
 Defgodetz,, his Charader for Exaftnefs in Archi- 
 tefture. 198 
 His Miftakes about the croffings of the Stairs. 
 
 His Miftakes about the Windows. 313 
 
 His other Miftakes with regard to the Am- 
 phitheatre. 314 
 Doors of the Amphitheatre, on the inner-fide, 
 their Defcription. 301,302,303 
 The Height of them in the inner Ambulatory. 
 
 3o5 
 
 DemO'
 
 INDEX 
 
 hemoli/bers of thQ Amphitheatre, in what manna-' 
 they were hindered from that piece of Bar- 
 barity. = 30^ 
 
 Eutaricus Cicilla, the Combats of Wild-Beafts ex- 
 hibited by him. 5p 
 Entries o£ the Amphitheatre, their number. 
 
 309 
 
 Eidena, an Amphitheatre built in that City by 
 Attilius. 28 
 
 Fulvim Jul Quietus^ a rare Medal of him and 
 M/m^w« J his Brother. 124 
 
 Fomana, his Drawing of the Amphitheatre pub- 
 lifhed with Additions, not according to the 
 Original. ipj 
 
 Gladiators^ their Original was in Greece. 5 
 
 Gladiqtory Shews, the firft time they were exhi- 
 bited at Rome, 1 1 
 Games in Cicero's time performed in the Circus.' 
 .1 IS 
 Gordianus Pius re-edified the Amphitheatre. 44 
 Greece^ no Amphitheatres were ever in that 
 Country. 75 to 83 
 
 Hetrurians, Gladiatory Games began firft among 
 
 them. 7 
 
 Such Combats reprefented in their Monuments 
 
 of Antiquity. ibid. 
 
 Herod, the Amphitheatres erefted by him in Jw 
 
 Jtf« were of Wood. 108 
 
 Holes in the Amphitheatres, the reafon for them. 
 
 :2I4,2I5 
 
 E e Infcrifi
 
 INDEX 
 
 Pag. 
 InfciiptJons, which relate to tiiegreateft W<>Tfcs 
 of any, feem by a Fatality to be generally 
 loft. 140 
 
 One relating to the Amphitheatre of ^^j'ow.'T,. 
 dug out of the Well in the middle of the 
 Area there, with the Letters 5. CON. &c. 
 
 152 
 
 A Defcription thereof. 153 
 
 An antique one relating to the Retiarij\ found 
 
 at Verona. 158 
 
 .;. _: See the Infcription itfelf. 159 
 
 : A Defcription of it. 15 9, 160 
 
 One very curious, relating to a Flunting. 167 
 
 Its Defcription. . „ 168 
 
 Another relating to the Ludus PublUus, 171 
 
 Key-Stones of the Arches, in what manner built. 
 
 30^,305 
 
 Ligorio, his Drawing of the Arena of Verona^ 
 
 done according to his own Imagination, and 
 
 not confiftent with Truth. 120 
 
 Lifjius^ his Miftake about the Interpretation of 
 
 a Palfage in Pliny. 1 50 
 
 His Draught of the Amphitheatre not done 
 
 from Truth, but Imagination. ' 194 
 
 His and'Montfaucons fuperficial Account of the 
 
 Stairs on the infide of the Amphitheatre. 
 
 Ijgorto, Pzerro, his Draught of the Amphitheatre 
 imperfeft. . 200 
 
 The Statues faid by him to be on the Am- 
 phitheatres, are all a Fable of his own in- 
 venting. 235 
 
 LahyYtnth,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pag, 
 Lahyrinth^ that Word often underftood for Am- 
 phitheatre. 177 
 Lodges of the Amphitheatre, in what manner dif- 
 pofed, 320 
 
 Maz>ochio,a Canon, an Account of his Book wrote 
 
 about the AmphiLheatre of Capua. ^^ 
 
 Medals, the Ufe of them in iiluflrating the Affairs 
 
 of the Amphitheatres. - 45 
 
 Some curious ones defer ib'd. 129 to 13B 
 
 M^T^tinelli Chrijiim, a rare Medal relating to the* 
 
 Amphitheatre in his CoUe(5lion. 47 
 
 Milan had a Circus, but no Amphitheatre in 
 
 that City. 104 
 
 Manufcripts^ in one, Anna 8^6, the A$ena of Ve- 
 
 rona is mentioned, 175 
 
 Another in the loth Age, ibid, 
 
 Montfaucon-, his fpurious Accounts of Images 
 
 round the Amphitheatre of Capua. 258,239 
 
 NcYOy an Amphitheatre of Wood buik by him 
 in the Campus Martius, 28 
 
 JSlffmes, that an Amphitheatre was there, and o- 
 
 ther Parts of France, is a vulgarError.98,99 
 
 The antique Building there no Amphitheatre. 
 
 Nimes, the Antiquities there defcrib d. 142 
 
 A Roman Colony called Colonia Augufia there. 
 
 The Amphitheatre imagined to be there, Vv^as 
 probably not buik by the Emperor Ha- 
 drian, the Hiftovia Atigufla being filent there- 
 in. • • 147 
 P^atfles, that an Amphitheatre was erefted there, 
 is exploded by Pietro Lajcena, who wrote 
 the Gymnafium Neapolitanum. 105 
 E e ^ OnortQ
 
 INDEX 
 
 Pag. 
 
 Onorio Arrigoni, an Abbot,his vaft and noble Col- 
 
 leftionof Medals. 12S 
 
 One particularly exceedingly fcarce of Galerius 
 
 Maximus, ihid. 
 
 Its Legend and Defcription. ihid. 
 
 Orders of ArchiteEiure^ vary in their Proportions 
 
 according to the Fancy of Architects and 
 
 Circumftances of Things. 208 
 
 In Architeftiire, from what Buildings of the 
 
 Ancients theModerns took them.2 2 5 ,225,227 
 
 The "Itufcan Order to be feen and learned in 
 
 the Arena of Verona, 225?,23o,233 
 
 Pompey the Great, the Games celebrated by him. 
 
 The firft who ereded an Amphitheatre 01 
 
 Stone. . ^3 
 
 Piacenza, an Amphitheatre there. ' 2p 
 
 Prims of Copper-plates, fictitious Things often 
 
 rcprefented by them. up 
 
 Of Amphitheatres, how very defedtive, 316 
 
 Premian Camps^ are not reprefented on Coins> 
 
 but Cities. 12(5,127 
 
 Pola^ the Theatre there very different from the 
 
 common Sort. 13P 
 
 Plan of Ground-plot of the Amphitheatres, its 
 
 Defcription. 243 
 
 Pliny^ Harduin's Edition of that Author in fome 
 
 Places erroneous. 249 
 
 Podium^ in what Manner it was ornamented. 
 
 255,266 
 Pavement of the Amphitheatre, a Defcription 
 
 thereofo 30Q 
 
 Rui'dS
 
 IND E Z 
 
 Ruins of ancient Buildings, fome People miftake 
 modern Works for them. up 
 
 Remains of Antiquity at Rome^ Verona^ Pola and 
 Nifmes^ greater and more noble than any 
 where elfe. 141 
 
 Retiariij a Defcription of that kind of Gladiators." 
 
 155,154,165 
 
 Rooms in the firft Inclofure, their Number and 
 Light. 510 
 
 Strak and Halicarnaffeus^ the firft Authors who 
 name the Amphitheatre. 21 
 
 Statilius 'Taurus^ the Hunting Theatre of Stone 
 erefted by him. 24 
 
 Symmachus^ in his Time a Tax was laid on Ani- 
 mals allotted for publick Shews. 59 
 
 Satire, a Specimen of fuch kind of Poetry among 
 the Greeks. 93,9^ 
 
 Sicily, whether fixed Amphitheatres were ever in 
 that Ifland, is uncertain. io5 
 
 Sarmio, a Peninfula, the Ruins of the Houfe of 
 Catullus faid to be there. 118 
 
 Scamozzi, his Drawing of the Amphitheatre im- 
 perfedt. 1^7 
 
 Steffs, or Seats in the Amphitheatre of Verona, in 
 
 what Manner they have been repaired by 
 
 the Moderns. 270,271,172 
 
 In the Amphitheatre, how they were con- 
 
 triv'd, and their Number. 274,275 
 
 Stairs of the Amphitheatre,on the Infide thereof, 
 in what Manner difpos'd. 2^0,291^ 
 
 ^erlio, his Draught of the Amphitheatre fpoiled 
 ^nd falfified by the Engravers. 3 1 1 
 
 Stories^
 
 Pag. 
 
 Storiesy of the Amphitheatre,, the higheft Ends 
 
 defer ibe<i. 5I5j3i<^ 
 
 Toxari, the Account of them fabulous. 5 
 
 Titus Vefpafian^ the ColofTus on Medals reprefen- 
 
 ted him, and not Nero, 40,41 
 
 T'hundeYy the Omenoufnefs believed to be in it 
 
 by the Ancients. 45 
 
 'felemachusy a Monk, flain by the Speftators in 
 
 the Amphitheatre. 6S 
 
 'Trajan s Pillar, the round Figures feen on it no 
 
 • Amphitheatres. iil 
 
 TournarAents, performed within the Amphitheatre 
 
 oiVeronay one Amo 1^22, another 1554.186 
 Of another ^/2«o 1222, and 1527. 187 
 
 Another, in which our Author the Marquiis 
 
 performed as a Combatant. .. 188 
 
 And Tihwgyhom whence People had:thefirft 
 
 Idea of them. 250,251 
 
 7'ertullian, a difficult Pafiage in him with regard 
 
 to the inner Difpoficion of the Amphitheatre 
 
 explain'd. 279 
 
 Tufcan Order, an Account of it. 205? 
 
 VilliteSy the Ufe of that kind of Gladiators. p 
 
 Vefpajian, the moft magnificent Amphitheatxe^f 
 
 all, built by him in Rome, ' '2.9,^0: 
 
 Verona, except at that Place, Rome and Capua-y'r\o 
 
 Amphitheatres are to be feen. 100 
 
 The Amphitheatre there probably not built by 
 
 Auguflus, 149 
 
 The Amphitheatre there probably not built by 
 
 Maximus. 150,151 
 
 The firft time the Arena there is mentioned 
 
 after the Times of the Romans, 175 
 
 Verona^
 
 1 ND £ X. 
 
 Pag, 
 Verona, a Governour there fends a Challenge to a 
 Clergyraan to fight him in a Duel for hav- 
 ing killed an Arch-Prieft. i8o 
 The Amphitheatre there repaired by publick 
 Decree, Anno 1228. 181 
 Another Statute for that Purpofe, Anno 1376. 
 'Ftd. the Words themfelves. 185 
 A third, Anno 1475:, &c. 184 
 The Amphitheatre there, theMeafures thereof. 
 
 202 
 •The Amphitfieatre there, fome farther Ac- 
 count of its Dimenfions, and the Materials 
 with which it was built. 211,212 
 
 Vallum of the Romans, its Defcription. 123,125 
 Vitruvius, Cerdo, whether he built the Amphi- 
 theatre of Verona is uncertain. 157 
 Vifconti, that Family Prefidents over the Arena 
 of Verona. 180 
 Vitruviusy a Paffage in him not well underftood. 
 
 Vomitories in the A mphitheatre, in what Manner 
 
 they were contrivM. '^IS^^l^ 
 
 Ufiz,iy a Defcription of that Palace in Florence, 
 
 308 
 
 Wild Beafls, the fighting of them in the ^dilitate 
 
 of M. Scaur us, 13 
 
 In what Manner they were brought within 
 
 the Area of the Amphitheatres. 254,255 
 
 The Manner by which they were hindred from^ 
 
 injuring the Speftators. 266,267 
 
 PValls of the Amphitheatre on the In fide, in what 
 
 Manner they were built. 305 '
 
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